Abby’s Paradise Theater, which hosts a variety of events at Sesame Place Philadelphia, a theme and water park based on the Sesame Street TV series located in Bucks County, PA that’s operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, recently received a sound reinforcement upgrade in a project by integration firm Illuminated that incorporates Martin Audio CDD coaxial loudspeakers working with SX112 subwoofers.
The goal was to deliver uniform coverage throughout the 850-seat, clam-shaped auditorium in addition to supporting future park integration and immersive sound elements. The installation was not without its challenges, as the venue is situated outside under a covered metal roof with metal bleachers with a “Lazy River” and waterfall running immediately behind it.
“We love how good Martin Audio boxes sound and the fact that the sound remains consistent throughout the line,” states Cody Toms, Illuminated audio/video systems creative. “We also knew we could get the space modeled well and that we weren’t going to need to spend a lot of time at the back end tuning, especially to get the vocal clarity of the Martin Audio boxes, as they already sound just phenomenal.”
With a modeling assist from EASE Focus, lead AV designer Bobby Dengler specified three CDD12 (in white), spaced and suspended as a conventional left-center-right system from the overhead beams, with a single SX112 sub flown behind each of the left and right hangs.
“With the noise of Lazy River and the waterfall behind, we also had to achieve some rear rejection and keep the audio contained where it’s supposed to be,” continues Toms. “Neither we nor Sesame Place wanted audio to be spilling out, and it was important to be able to boost performers’ live mics on stage without getting feedback, while at the same time achieving the required SPL and even coverage across the seating. It was a delicate balance.”
He also notes that the venue had been struggling with low end coverage “and while it’s not a rock concert, we wanted to cover the full spectrum.” They used the recommended tuning parameters from Martin Audio within a Q-SYS environment that provides an existing digital backbone.
“The way Martin Audio translates vocals throughout the line is a huge win for us, particularly as many of our clients are churches, theaters or school performance spaces,” Toms concludes. “With CDD I love the large number of models in the range and the fact that the coaxial source does not have the comb filtering of traditionally designed boxes. That all makes it easier for me as a designer because I know I’m not going to have to fight the box.”
