A recent performance in Czech Republic capitol city Prague by Australian electronic dance music combo RÜFÜS DU SOL at the 3,000-capacity Forum Karlin was supported by a main sound reinforcement system headed by KV2 Audio flagship VHD5 loudspeakers supported by UK-based event company Production Value.
The group’s relationship with KV2 began in early 2021 when KV2’s technical support director for the APAC region, Angus Davidson, also a front of house engineer, met Cam Trewin, a Melbourne-based studio and live sound engineer. “Cam had recorded a live set with RÜFÜS DU SOL at The Joshua Tree in the Mojave Desert which had been mixed in Dolby Atmos for the video in Los Angeles,” explains Davidson. “I told him about Red Road Immersive, the Dolby Atmos studio I had built during lockdown. He then talked to the band and they decided to remix the live set at Red Road for release on Apple Music.”
The studio is equipped with KV2 EX Series loudspeakers and is one of the first studios in APAC to be certified by Dolby. Trewin was impressed with the sound of the Atmos system, as was Dale Becker from Becker Mastering in LA.
Fast forward to August 2022 and RÜFÜS DU SOL in Prague, where Trewin employed the system headed by VHD5 loudspeakers following additional positive experiences with KV2 products at Red Road Immersive and then at New York club Avant Gardner. “RÜFÜS played the Cityfox Odyssey over New Year’s Eve at Avant Gardner this year, and they loved it,” remarks Davidson. “Avant Gardner is one of our biggest VHD5 installations to date and sounds amazing. Cam was delighted to be able to use one in Prague.”
In conjunction with Production Value, which was responsible for the European leg of the tour, KV2 supplied VHD5 full-range systems for main left and right plus 16 VHD4.0 subwoofers combined with four VHD218J subs in a cardioid configuration, with compact EX26 loudspeakers providing frontfill. “It was great to hear the VHD5 system stretch its legs on the RÜFÜS DU SOL gig – for me it really confirmed its standing as the best large-format point source system on the planet,” says Davidson.
Trewin adds, “I was very impressed with the power output of the VHD5 system and the even coverage and clarity in the top-end. The subs had great low information and response, especially for a show like RÜFÜS DU SOL which demands clean undistorted sound with powerful bottom-end.”
