Recently crossing its milestone 70th anniversary, Indiana University Auditorium, located in the heart of IU’s Bloomington campus, has one more great reason to celebrate – the installation of a new L-Acoustics loudspeaker and amplifier package.
Hosting a full schedule of more than 200 shows a year – ranging from international musical acts to touring Broadway productions to guest speakers and comedians – the 3,200-seat art deco-style room had grown in need of a sound system that could better accommodate the diversity and increasing technological demands of its events.
To begin the process, IU Auditorium Stage Manager John DeLong and Audio-Visual Technician Gene Frazier brought in veteran FOH Engineer Robert Scovill as a consultant to evaluate the room and make some system recommendations.
Working in tandem with Jason Wells of nearby Mid-America Sound, which has provided sound reinforcement for the University’s commencement services for many years, the decision was made to install an L-Acoustics KUDO system.
The new setup features left and right arrays each comprised of 12 KUDO enclosures, with an additional center array of 10 KUDO flown from the proscenium arch. Eight SB28 subs are stacked four per side hidden behind cherry louvers in the proscenium wall.
Power and processing for the mains and subs are provided by a total of 22 LA8 amplified controllers, all equipped with L-Acoustics’ new LA-AES3 input cards, which provide a fully digital signal path between a newly-installed Avid VENUE Profile house console and the L-Acoustics system.
The university also added 10 self-powered, coaxial 108P enclosures, six of which typically reside on the pit rail or stage lip for front-fill, with the remainder used as needed for stage monitoring, choir-fill, and as standalone units for tiny portable PA applications.
“I’m tremendously impressed with our new L-Acoustics system,” says Frazier. “It brings such a warmth and presence to the room, particularly in the vocal region, without being at all brash, bitter or bright.”
“We host a lot of touring Broadway shows and other theatrical productions, so our design approach with the center KUDO array was to enable theatre engineers to easily bring the vocal image back to the center, and this system does that so nicely and intelligibly.”
“Loud or quiet, the vocals stand up and step forward. And KUDO’s not just a one-trick pony, either – it’s a great crossover box that is plenty big and powerful enough to handle any rock show that might play here as well.”
“We’ve had a lot of productions come in over the past few months – from Blue Man Group and Vampire Weekend to A Chorus Line and Fiddler on the Roof – look at our rig, and then decide to leave most of their own gear on the trucks,” he adds.
“And once they’ve used this system, I’ve heard nothing but compliments on it. Even our most discerning ears here at IU’s Jacobs School of Music have commented on the night-and-day difference in tonality, balance and overall sound quality.”
“With our previous system, it was always such a struggle to get volume and clarity, whereas now it’s almost effortless to make the room sound however we want. I’m absolutely tickled with this new rig.”
