RMB Audio (Selma, NC) has just completed installation of Martin Audio’s new CDD-WR15 loudspeakers at North Carolina’s Museum of Art outdoor amphitheater, the world’s first installation of the weatherized loudspeakers.
Founded in 1924, the museum was granted an adjacent 164-acre site for the development of the Museum Park and trail system in the year 2000. Over a dozen works of art and two miles of trails have made the museum one of a handful in the world with both a renowned traditional art collection and the largest outdoor art park in the U.S.
The Museum Park also includes an outdoor amphitheater that has hosted performances by artists such as Judy Collins, Pink Martini, Wilco, Gary Clark Jr. and Neko Case in recent years. Expanding its concert seating capacity necessitated changes in the audio system to provide more intelligible sound for the larger audiences.
Long-time audio provider RMB Audio was called in to update the system, with company owner Cooper Cannady noting, “The current system has been there for 10 years and worked well enough until they expanded their audience for the park capacity to 2,900.
“The key factor for any show was that the delays couldn’t keep up anymore. We talked to the client about replacing them with CDD15-WR weatherized versions as soon as they became available. We then did a field test with one of their boxes and one of the CDD’s, which quickly convinced them to buy into the new system.”
Consisting of three delay towers discretely positioned in the furthest areas of the audience, each with two CDD15-WR loudspeakers, the new delay system now has the efficiency, high output and throw to reach a distance out to 125 feet and ensure consistent coverage and clarity for the audience all the way to the back of the park. The CDD-WR construction, finishes and fittings also provide protection from changing environmental conditions.
“The CDD15-WR high frequency differential horn design provides coverage for the immediate area with the 120-degree horizontal and the far audience with the 60-degree horizontal angle,” Cannady explains. “And the speakers are voiced to sound so much better. It’s like night and day compared to the previous boxes. You have a Martin Audio W8LM rig on the stage which matches up perfectly with the CDD-WR’s, so you can’t tell where the stage stops and the delays start. It’s totally seamless.
“I’d already done several installations with CDD speakers and they had worked out so well that I was confident about how good they would sound in this setting with a minimum of EQ adjustments. And they’re very compact in relation to their power and output, which eliminates a large distracting visual presence so the audience doesn’t notice or pay attention to them. We want to keep the focus on stage, not the delays.
“The client is very happy with the CDD15-WR system,” he concludes. “After the first show, I was instantly barraged by a ton of emails from the Amphitheater management telling me they had received so many compliments from the audience about how much better everything sounded––and it’s already rated as one of the best sounding venues around. They couldn’t believe how many people walked up to them with compliments about how good the show sounded. The audience was the feedback loop and their positive reactions were instantaneous, which was very motivating to our crew after the load out.”
