Edmonton’s Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium (NAJA) and Calgary’s Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium (SAJA) have become the first theatres in Canada to be equipped with Meyer Sound LYON linear sound reinforcement systems. The Alberta Jubilee Auditoriums were built in 1955 and host a wide range of performing arts, cultural, and community events.
The 2,538-seat auditoriums upgraded from their M2D line array loudspeakers, a decision made jointly by Mark Belkie and Paul Schmitz, technical coordinators for audio at SAJA and NAJA, respectively.
“In our extensive listening and assessment process, LYON set the benchmark that all other competing loudspeakers had to meet or exceed, and none could do so,” reported Belkie. “We’ve found that LYON is a significant step forward in terms of clean and effortless SPL, giving us systems that can easily handle the requirements of anyone coming into our venue, including aggressive rock acts.”
Schmitz cited LYON’s balanced and linear response. “The high frequencies are smooth, and throw clearly to the back of the second balcony,” he added. “Also, the midrange response is outstanding. On first listen we were immediately impressed with the quality of the vocal range, and the snares, toms, and guitar tones sound fuller and more realistic.”
The upgrade for both auditoriums included 22 LYON-M main line array loudspeakers and six 1100-LFC low-frequency control elements. Six-each MINA and M’elodie line array loudspeakers were installed as centre downfill clusters in SAJA and NAJA, respectively. For system drive and optimisation, two Galileo Callisto 616 array processors were added to each theatre’s existing Galileo loudspeaker management systems. The systems were supplied by Allstar Show Industries of Calgary and Edmonton, with integration and installation by technical staff at the respective auditoriums. “LYON has an exceptionally flat phase response and integrates beautifully with the existing Meyer Sound loudspeakers that remain in our systems,” noted Belkie.
