Sapphire Sound, in collaboration with GerrAudio, deployed LynTec AVL power control in a recent production systems upgrade at storied Jack Singer Concert Hall (JSCH) in Calgary, home to the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, BD&P World Stage, and TD Jazz.
While the pandemic forced the JSCH to remain closed to the public throughout 2020 and into the 2021 season, the not-for-profit space was able to use the downtime to overhaul its systems, including the installation of a Meyer Sound loudspeaker system that can be reconfigured to accommodate multiple audience seating arrangements. To achieve this, the team at the Jack Singer brought in local AV integrator Sapphire Sound; GerrAudio Distribution, Meyer Sound’s Canadian distributor; and Meyer Sound to come up with a hybrid system.
The hybrid is comprised of two subsystems: L/R line arrays that can be flown in for louder rock shows, and a center cluster comprised of multiple point-source elements for quieter symphony concerts where the audience is typically seated around the stage. Each line array consists of 16 LEOPARD loudspeakers on either side of the stage, and the center cluster is comprised of multiple UPQ-D series and ULTRA-X series point-source loudspeakers.
In addition, the venue’s new system has distributed point-source units throughout the space for various fill applications and Meyer Sound’s latest generation of low-frequency control elements — both flown as part of the center cluster and ground-stacked on either side of the stage if required. Sapphire Sound and GerrAudio were charged with ensuring that the venue’s system design requirements were met, which included replacing its former power relay panels that were no longer powerful enough to support the new AV systems.
“Because we were expanding on the sound system so much, we actually needed to change the feed source to the room,” explains Phil Banks, operations manager for Sapphire Sound. “Rather than just add in another 100 amps, it made sense to change everything to a 250-amp main feed and do it all within one cabinet.”
In addition, because there were two systems, zoning was complex, necessitating a power control system capable of supporting multizone configurations. With that in mind, Sapphire looked to LynTec power control. “Within the two systems, there are several different zone configurations that we needed to be able to manage — it’s likes zones within zones,” says Banks. “Having the ability to turn off different zones based on the audience size and the audience configuration was a big factor in choosing LynTec. We also wanted to make it incredibly simple to operate.”
LynTec two-pole RPC-348 remote panels power those configurations. Based on the G3 Powerlink hardware platform by Square D, the RPC Series uses the latest remotely operated breakers and includes models that can control up to 168 circuit breakers with a single controller. For the Jack Singer, the 348 provided exactly what the system demanded: 48 controlled circuits and six non-controlled.
“Between the two systems, we filled the panel to the brim,” Banks adds. “And the expansion capabilities of the LynTec are a benefit too. If we needed to add another panel in the future, we can just toss in a secondary panel and still control it easily from the same system.”
The RPC is designed to interface with any control system that communicates individual circuit addresses in IP, Telnet, DMX, sACN, RS-232, or contact closures. “We just wanted to keep it as simple as possible for the technicians on-site and not lock them into something new,” Banks says. “Because they were used to having a physical switch, we stuck to that routine, but we added a second switch inside the booth so they can start the on-off sequence right from there. Having the option of IP control is handy so that if they ever needed to change the sequence of that start-up procedure, it’s all easily done.”
In addition, the RPC enables up to 12 control zones, and each zone can be controlled by a different protocol. To support specific audio and video system startup requirements, it features circuit-level sequencing with customizable step-rates from fractions to 999 seconds as well as circuit-selectable load shedding, auto-on, and over/undervoltage protection. A built-in scheduling program with astronomical clock gives venues the option to schedule automated power down and ensure nothing is accidentally left on.
In addition to the loudspeaker systems, the RPC panel is feeding the Jack Singer Concert Hall’s stage audio. This ensures everything has the same ground source so that no buzzes are heard through the PA.
“LynTec is a powerhouse, and where we do the design-build for a project, we work their panels in,” Banks concludes. “For the Jack Singer, we had to work through a lot of logistics due to the pandemic as well as design complexities, but LynTec’s tech team was awesome in helping us get it all resolved really efficiently.”
