The outdoor Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary, NC decided to use its downtime during the pandemic to upgrade its sound reinforcement, with long-time North Carolina-based audio provider CareySound AVL invited to demo a system incorporating Electro-Voice X-Line Advance line arrays paired with the company’s new Dynacord amplifiers that were positioned in a space beyond the confines of its Greensboro shop.
“When we got demo units of the new Dynacord amplifiers in the shop, I was immediately impressed by the way they transform anything we throw at them,” says John Carey, president of CareySound AVL. “Our X-Line Advance system suddenly felt so alive, I knew right away there was no turning back. The Koka Booth Amphitheatre demo gave us a real-world chance to experience that – and share that sound quality with our prospective clients.”
The venue’s legacy system used a left-center-right (LCR) speaker approac, augmented with outfield delays. After studying the venue, which hosts the North Carolina Symphony concert series annually, CareySound decided to present an approach with left-right X-Line Advance line arrays with cardioid subs.
“We realized this was going to be more of a shootout, with several other manufacturers there as well,” explains Ken Carey, CareySound founder and chairman. “Since most major tours bring in their own systems, our approach was to optimize the new house system for the symphony. That meant full-range, even coverage, all while keeping energy off the stage – especially sub energy. As a result, our demo sounded different. The other rigs all had this overwhelming low-end, which tends to hide a lot of details. By comparison, the EV-Dynacord system sounded great, very accurate and clear.”
After winning the contract, CareySound consulted with Electro-Voice application engineers to finalize the system design, utilizing EV’s new installation-grade, weatherized version of X-Line Advance arrays and subs. Twin five-element X1i-212 arrays employ three 90-degree boxes above two 120-degree models for primary coverage, with the original center hang position now hosting three X12i-128 dual-18-inch subwoofers in a cardioid configuration, hung in a custom rig created by CareySound. All feature fiberglass enclosures and protected electronics.
In addition, each of the three main hangs houses one EVF-1122D/94 downfill loudspeaker, while across the stage lip, six EVC-1082/96 speakers provide frontfill. Six EV MFX-12MC low-profile enclosureshandle stage monitor duties. Away from the stage, the crescent-shaped concessions building at the back of the audience area is served by 12 EVC-1082-96 compact loudspeakers.
All the loudspeakers are driven by Dynacord IPX series amplifiers with supervision via SONICUE Sound System Software and Dante audio networking over Cat-6 and fiber lines. Performance is optimized via the EV factory loudspeaker settings in SONICUE. The combination of six Dynacord IPX10:4 amps power the loudspeakers using just eight amps versus the 25 in the venue’s legacy system. All IPX models also offer integrated 96 kHz DSP for superior sound quality.
“The audio transparency, DSP and power of these amps is remarkable,” says John Carey. “It’s to the point where I now suggest Dynacord IPX for every install we do. And I love that they seamlessly integrate with SONICUE for system design and control. It’s the cherry on top of an already impressive package.”
