Currently marking its tenth anniversary, The Lowry at Salford Quays near Manchester has become the first site in the UK to be installed with d&b audiotechnik’s latest E6 loudspeaker.
In need of new delays, The Lowry’s technical manager, Dave Woodward, and his team had decided to opt for the E6’s predecessor, the E3. Then Wigwam’s Paul Braddock informed Woodward that the E3 had been “discontinued, but the E6 looked really good. I didn’t expect d&b to take this replacement lightly, but still I went to take a look at PLASA North. We couldn’t listen to them but the ease of rotating the horn for different dispersion applications was appealing as we do have secondary use for them on a temporary basis for conferencing break outs, for example. Paul promised they sounded as good if not better than the E3 and that is what we have found. In fact for us they’re slightly better because they deliver a decent amount of volume and you can run so many off one channel of an amplifier.”
To provide delay reinforcement for a variety of performers – not least those by TV actors unused to projecting their voices sufficiently – Woodward has had a ring of E6s installed in the deep and upper circles, also adding heavy theatrical drapes along the rear walls to moderate the reflections. In addition, Woodward has purchased a further four E6s for the Studio to use as front-fill.
“Paul’s assessment of the E6 for our purposes was spot on; audibility in the Lyric is greatly improved,” said Woodward. “The extra loudspeakers we’ve put in the Studio are easily demountable for temporary use elsewhere, and with Wigwam just up the road from us, any call for extra equipment is quickly and easily done. The improvements are very noticeable; in fact, after ten years it has given new momentum to a full system upgrade.”
A drama about the life of comedian Eric Morecambe, a series of plays by M. R. James, and a concert by Kate Rusby are among The Lowry’s commitments during the next few weeks.
