Two venues that host live performances at the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre in Penrith, New South Wales and one of Sydney’s busiest performing arts complexes have been outfitted with sound reinforcement upgrades headed by Alcons Audio components.
In mid-2019, the venue’s Production & Technical Manager Geoff Turner and Head of Audio Tim Anikin started looking for replacement of the old point source system that had served the dramatic theatre (The Q Theatre) from the beginning to overcome sonic issues inherent in the space.
A multi-purpose room with a thrust stage and audience of 378 in a semi-circular amphitheatre configuration provides excellent sight lines but makes it challenging to amplify and distribute sound equally. The project tender was won by Loud and Clear Sales, which in conjunction with Drew Bisset, designed and installed a system utilizing Alcons Audio LR7 line arrays and LR18B subwoofers.
“Our experience with the LR7 micro line array from Alcons Audio sent us there immediately,” says David Betterridge, Managing Director at Loud and Clear Sales. “What we didn’t realize until we did the modeling was just how perfect a solution it was for the space.”
Specifically, the design incorporates arrays of six boxes, each in 90-degree configuration, to provide coverage to every seat in the house, with only minor overlaps occurring in the aisles. “We could barely believe the data from the EASE Focus plot, but knowing the reliability of Alcons specs, we were very confident that if we could get the rigging points in the exact locations we needed, we could deliver,” Betterridge adds.
A pair of LR18B subs located behind the center cluster provides low-frequency extension for the system, which all runs from a single Sentinel10 four-channel DSP amplified loudspeaker controller. All system processing is done within the Sentinel so no external processor was needed.
When the system was commissioned the difference was immediately noticeable. In fact, the team at “The Joan” only had a chance to utilize it for a few months before the pandemic closed the doors to all the world’s performance spaces. Still, they were so impressed by the new system in the that they looked to the same team to quote on an upgrade to the larger and more challenging space, the Richard Bonynge Concert Hall, again designed, installed and commissioned again by Loud and Clear Sales and Bisset.
A 550-seat rectangle, the Concert Hall system needed the headroom to support contemporary acts and the definition to support the many orchestral and spoken word users of the space. The room offers good natural acoustics, but some challenges, especially at high SPL. It was important to focus the system on the audience area and avoid as many reflections off hard walls and floors as possible.
A true stereo system was requested combined with a need to keep the footprint. Custom rigging designed and supplied by Bisset allowed placement of the left, right and sub arrays where they were needed, while the new Alcons VR5 mini monitor is deployed for front fill and side fill for the balconies upstairs.
The left/right arrays are each comprised of nine LR14 compact line array modules (90-degree format), with LF extension offered by three BF362 subs in cardioid mode, flown in the center. All loudspeakers are driven by a trio of Sentinel10 controllers running ALControl software, which allows programming for the various user applications required. These range from a simple left/right feed for basic presentations to full access to all channels for advanced users and touring engineers.
“The throw from the top of the arrays all the way to mix position, and the headroom of the system is exactly what we wanted,” concludes Head of Audio Tim Anikin. “The intelligibility of the system makes it a dream to operate.”
