Popular Norwegian pop/rock band DDE recently celebrated its 30th anniversary with a concert at the Trondheim (Norway) Spektrum arena, where audio provider Trondheim Lyd supplied a sound reinforcement system headed by Alcons Audio pro-ribbon loudspeakers to deliver in-the-round coverage to an audience of 11,000.
Titled “Sirkus DDE,” the band was supported by an array of circus performers in a show that took 18 months of planning by DDE’s long-time lighting designer Lars Kristian. Meanwhile, the sound system delivering 360-degree coverage in the arena was designed by Trondheim Lyd’s Arnstein Fossvik and Erwan Thomas, incorporating 48 Alcons LR28 larger-format, 16 LR24 mid-size and 16 LR7 compact line array modules joined by 18 LR28B bass modules. Six VR8 compact monitors delivered fill, with all loudspeakers driven by 48 Sentinel10 and four Sentinel3 amplified loudspeaker controllers.
The main system was flown as 10 hangs in a circle above the stage — four arrays of 12 LR28s, four arrays of 12 LR18s and two arrays of eight LR24s. “The arena is a rectangle, so the three-way double 14-inch LR28s were used for the longer side of the arena where more throw was needed, while the three-way double 8-inch LR18s were used for the shorter side, with less distance to cover,” explains Thomas. “The transition between each array type was smooth and worked very well.”
The event marked the first time that Trondheim Lyd had used the new LR24s and LR28Bs. “The LR28Bs performed really well, with such a natural but powerful sound,” says Fossvick. “Because this was a one-off show, the LR24s were used more as a center fill than a standard left-right system. For the festival season this summer we will use it for our B stage, which will give us a better overall impression. We are sure it will sound just as good.”
