Rondinelli Audio serves the community of Dubuque and the surrounding tri-state region of northeast Iowa, southwest Wisconsin, and northwest Illinois. The company sells musical instruments and professional audio equipment from its retail location on the west side of Dubuque, in addition to handling installations for churches, clubs and schools.
Recently, the company needed more powerful amplifiers for their subwoofers, and Rondinelli chose Ashly Audio’s new KLR-5000 amplifiers, citing their performance, value, reliability, and Ashly’s customer support as deciding factors in the purchase.
“In this business, undependability is simply not an option,” said Rondinelli. “Our clients usually have an excellent sense of what sounds good and what sounds bad. However, they seldom know what it takes, from a technical standpoint, to deliver good sound.”
“They rely on us to make sure that their event runs smoothly. Thus, we’re very careful to vet everything that goes into our rig.”
Past positive experiences with Ashly equipment and service paired with positive reviews of the manufacturer’s new KLR-Series of high-efficiency amplifiers cinched the deal.
Rondinelli’s standard rig is comprised of twelve RCF TTL33-A line array boxes (typically deployed six per side) with RCF NX M12-As for front fill. A collection of RCF NX M12-A and NX M15-A boxes serve as stage monitors as required by the particulars of a given event.
Eight modified Grund Audio Designs GT-3600 dual-18 subwoofers deliver powerful low end for indoor and outdoor venues, alike. Although Rondinelli Audio will bring digital consoles per request, the crew usually travels with an analog Midas Verona and Siena consoles for FOH and monitors, respectively.
“It was immediately apparent that the Ashly KLR-5000s were abundantly powerful and clean,” said George. “The low end was noticeably fuller and better defined. Even when we had the system roaring, the KLR-5000s were obviously keeping up without straining at all.”
But for a touring rig like Rondinelli’s, performance per se is only part of the story. “The Ashly KLR-5000s are also unusually compact and light-weight,” he added. “That’s important because we need to keep our rig’s footprint as small as possible. Moreover, the unit’s specifications, such as input sensitivity, allow us to integrate it effortlessly with the rest of our equipment.”
He continued, “The reliability of Ashly’s equipment is legendary, and the KLR-5000s possess the same build quality for which the company is known. And in those rare instances where we have had to send something back to Ashly, the service has been great. I have even had an Ashly technician telephone me to discuss things. I think that reflects the human dimension of Ashly, which is unique these days.”
