The Ranch Concert Hall and Saloon, a new concert venue and event center in Fort Myers offering live performances from top artists such as Josh Turner, Joe Nichols, and Tanya Tucker, is outfitted with a sound reinforcement system incorporating D.A.S. Audio loudspeakers.
Ft. Myers-based Tech-Tronics Sound, Lighting and Staging, headed by founder/owner Arthur “Rusty” Roepke, provided the design and installation of the system.
“Because The Ranch hosts a variety of top artists, it was essential that the house sound system be a solid, concert-level setup,” Roepke notes. “We wanted to ensure that not only the performers, but their technical staff as well, had a system that offered the music reproduction and speech intelligibility characteristics they expected. This is what led us to D.A.S. Audio Aero Series 2 loudspeakers.”
The main arrays are comprised of eight D.A.S. Aero 12A line array elements, four enclosures each for the left and right hangs that flank the main stage, with eight D.A.S. LX-218A subwoofers positioned beneath the stage. Roepke and his crew also deployed another two Aero 12A enclosures, one left and the other right, roughly 60 feet into the house to extend coverage, time-delayed in relation to the mains.
“There were numerous considerations that went into our decision to deploy D.A.S. equipment,” he states. “For starters, I’ve always been impressed with the quality of D.A.S. Audio’s sound. It’s clear, music reproduces very naturally and, as a result, people both on stage and in the audience hear the music the way it was intended.
“I’ve also been impressed with the dispersion characteristics of the Aero 12A,” he continues. “These loudspeakers have really good horizontal dispersion and solid vertical throw. These characteristics make it that much easier to ensure even coverage throughout the space. Further, the integrated rigging hardware is well designed, so flying and making adjustments to the equipment is that much easier.
“The LX-218A delivers a big, full sound you can feel. Since the entire system is powered, you don’t have to concern yourself with selecting power amps that are properly suited to the enclosures and this simplifies system cabling. Best of all, since the entire setup is self-powered, we didn’t have to deal with finding a suitable home for a rack of heavy power amps. The entire setup is very neatly organized.”
Roepke reports that the system has performed beyond expectations, “It’s been terrific,” he concludes. “In the 10 months that the system has been operational, there hasn’t been a single problem. The artists and their engineers have been very complimentary, and our client has been equally pleased.”