The Wiltshire Music Centre, which is located in Bradford on Avon, UK, recently underwent a major audio system upgrade with the new solution based on EM Acoustic’s new Halo-C series line arrays powered by Lab.gruppen’s IPD Series amplifiers
London-based pro-audio specialist, Autograph Sales and Installations, handled the installation at the purpose-built 300-seat concert hall. Led by the Autograph’s new business engineer, Phil Nicolaou, the project centred on the specification and installation of a new front-of-house loudspeaker system and included an upgrade to the existing mixing console, new equipment racks and mains power management systems.
“The centre is a modern performance space that hosts a diverse range of music, from acoustic and orchestral works through to jazz, world music, opera and choral works, so it’s a good test for an installed sound system,” commented Nicolaou. “Having assessed the space, the available budget and the intended use of the kit we realised that EM’s new Halo-C was just about perfect in every respect. Our design uses a compact left-right flown design where each side comprises five EM Acoustics Halo-C line-source elements and one Halo-C Sub. This arrangement provides ample full-frequency coverage for the entire auditorium without needing any delays or sidefills – in fact the only supplementary audience loudspeakers are five EMS-61s mounted along the front edge of the stage as near-field fills”.
The entire system – including six EM Acoustics M10 monitors which are used for on-stage monitoring – runs off just eight Lab.gruppen IPD-Seriespower amplifiers.
At the heart of the IPD platform is a latest-generation DSP engine equipped with up to a total of 40 real-time, multi-slope parametric EQs along with adjustable gain, input and output delay, and both high- and low-pass filters adjustable to any frequency. The DSP also provides extensive protection for a loudspeaker system, in the form of the innovative software-controlled Speaker Protect Limiter.
The centre already owned an Allen & Heath GLD-80 digital mixing console, and to expand the system and deliver a whole new level of control the team specified and supplied a new multi-media card for the console, plus two iDR Out digital expanders / audio breakout modules. Along with the iPad and a WiFi access point, this allows the desk and PA to be controlled via an app on the iPad from anywhere in the room, so the house engineer can move freely around the auditorium and tune the system to suit the circumstances and type of performance.
www.autographsales.co.uk
www.labgruppen.com
www.emacoustics.co.uk