A Big Change
Interestingly, in the earlier stages of the company’s development, they were able to acquire all mixing consoles, microphones, amplifiers, electronics and other components, but not complete loudspeaker systems.
The drivers were imported, and then the C. Vilar team had to build the cabinets and perform final assembly in their shop.
The approach was not unusual – due to high transportation costs and the taxes on goods brought in from outside the country, virtually every other sound company in the region did the same thing.
That changed in 2002, however, when the company made the decision to update its “A-line” loudspeaker rig, and began investigating the merits of the various line array systems on the market, attending a number of product demos at the invitation of manufacturers. This first round of evaluation didn’t really nudge the decision-making process.
“The first line arrays that we listened to did not impress us,” notes Cesar Vilar. “To us, they performed better than a conventional system, but not enough to make us feel as though we needed it in our inventory.”
Progress was made at the AES Convention that year in Los Angeles, however, where months of research and discussion led to selection of an Adamson Y-Axis line array system.
“Every audio professional we spoke with – particularly those without an interest in selling us anything – had nice things to say about this line array system,” comments Leonardo Vilar.
“It was very curious to us how many people bought a particular system because it was the easiest to rig, or the lighter one, or the easiest to truck, or the one from the company they used before, or the one from the company with better credit options, or the one their favorite band just toured with. We just wanted to get the best-sounding system.”
Less than two months later, the company took delivery of 20 Adamson Y-18 main line array loudspeakers, as well as four Y-10 down fill boxes, to be powered by a new amplification package including six Lab Gruppen fP 3400s for mids and highs and 18 Lab Gruppen fP 6400s for lows and subs.
Since then, C. Vilar Amplificacion’s inventory has increased considerably, now encompassing a wide range of product series, include various sizes of Y-Axis, SpekTrix and Metrix line arrays, subwoofers and more.
“We like Adamson because it’s very powerful, versatile and easy to use, and it supplies exceptionally even horizontal coverage,” explains Mauricio Vilar. “Our systems sound and perform just as the optimization software predicts.”
“I like turning on one of our systems, running some noise or music, and having it already sound great without needing hours for tuning.”