The VUE Audiotechnik line array system installed in a school’s new performing arts centre has been warmly received by teachers, students and parents alike.
Situated on the Calvin Christian School’s 100,000sqm campus in Escondido, California, the new 930sqm, 700-seat facility was designed to support large-scale play productions, live music, and worship services with a variety of content. School leaders wanted the new centre to nurture the creative gifts of its students while enabling the inspirational delivery of the spoken word – so sound quality at the top of their list.
The school appointed Quiet Voice Audio (QVA) from Fallbrook, California to provide complete audio system design and installation services for their new space. QVA’s track record includes notable installations at the California Performing Arts Center, Broadway Theater and the House of Blues. San Diego Stage and Lighting was also brought in to provide acoustic consultation and treatment.
“I knew the VUE al-4 could easily deliver the big-league acoustic performance they wanted while hitting their size and budget goals”John Bart, CEO, Quiet Voice Audio
The VUE Audiotechnik line array was the obvious front-runner once the space and performance goals were fully vetted. QVA CEO Jon Bart commented: “At an early design meeting, we asked the team to calibrate the sound coverage they wanted to achieve. Did they want another good-sounding generic design? Or, did they want to step up to a higher end theatrical or live-performance system? They chose the latter, and that decision led directly to the VUE al-4. There are only a few manufacturers who offer compact line arrays for small to medium-sized venues. I knew the VUE al-4 could easily deliver the big-league acoustic performance they wanted while hitting their size and budget goals.”
According to Bart, his confidence in the VUE line arrays – and the al-4 specifically – began several years ago when a local demo led to a chance meeting with VUE design chief Michael Adams.
“Being local, we’ve attended several impressive VUE demonstrations over the years and always leave very impressed. But having the opportunity to hear Mike Adams explain the science behind the al-4 was very motivating. There’s a genuine uniqueness to the VUE formula that’s like nothing else out there. Our confidence was further bolstered when we installed the al-4s in the challenging acoustic environment at St Gregory Church in San Diego. The results were simply excellent.”
Bart continued, “With each new experience, the al-4 delivers transparent, three-dimensional audio with a defined dispersion pattern. Perhaps even more importantly — particularly with multi-purpose venues like the Calvin theatre — the al-4s are very linear in response when used at lower SPLs during plays and spoken word, yet perform equally as well at higher SPLs as well. In short, they seem to take pretty much anything we throw at them and make it sound good.”
QVA’s final design for the school includes dual, ten-element VUE al-4 arrays at the left and right of the main stage. A pair of VUE al-4SB Flyable Subwoofers are integrated into the top of each array in an end-fire configuration for maximum impact. VUE’s versatile fly bar makes integration of the subs and line array elements visually seamless.
All power and processing for the arrays and subs come courtesy of four VUEDrive V4 Systems Engines. A single VUE h-12W high-definition full-range system with onboard VUEDrive electronics provides centre fill.
Following a comprehensive onboarding from QVA’s project manager Barry DeHart, and system training tech Mike Bart, Calvin’s audio team has universally embraced the new system. “They’re all very excited about the sound quality and how even the coverage is throughout the theatre,” said Bart.
More importantly, following the successful completion of several plays, live music performances and campus-wide public addresses, feedback from students, parents and faculty have been equally high. “It’s literally been one compliment after another,” concluded Bart. “These results are surely a testament to a great product and a great team. It was a genuine pleasure working with Calvin’s project supervisors Jeff Cooper, Terry Kok and Frank Steidl. They just get it.”
