Idol Puerto Rico, a reality television competition that is part of the Idol franchise, based on the British TV show Pop Idol and the U.S version American Idol, kicked off its second season with a new Yamaha CL5 digital audio console.
Ricky’s Audio Corporation of Arecibo, PR handles audio production for the show and supplied the new CL5 for the live mix to direct TV audio feed.
Idol Puerto Rico is performed and transmitted live every Monday from the 1,900-seat Centro de Bellas Artes de Caguas theater.
The audio system is distributed in three main locations: the TV broadcast room which houses the new CL5, the performance stage where two Yamaha RIO-2416 remote I/O boxes reside, and the front of house and monitor system that includes a Yamaha M7CL digital console with three Dante-MY16-AUD cards and two Cisco Gigabit switches.
“There were many factors that contributed to our decision to purchase a CL5,” states Néstor J. Heredia, executive VP/electrical engineer, Ricky’s Audio Corporation. “The most important factor was knowing that Yamaha mixers are widely accepted and present on almost all riders, which makes the CL5 ideal for our rental inventory since most engineers will immediately feel familiar with it.
“Another important factor in our decision to purchase the CL5 was the ability to use a normal Ethernet cable as a transport for the Dante network along with the flexibility this protocol has to offer.”
“The Yamaha CL system sounds amazing,” adds Heredia. “I am a real big fan of the sound of the PM5D, and I like the sound of the new CL Series even more.”
A long-time Yamaha console provider, Ricky’s Audio first mixer was a Yamaha MC1604, followed by newer analog and digital mixers, including the 01V96, LS9, and M7CL-48.
