For the third straight year, Mason Sound of Jacksonville, IL, supplied an extensive Electro-Voice X-Line Advance X2 system for the main concert stage at this summer’s Illinois State Fair in Springfield. For 2018, the system received a huge boost from the addition of new TGX20 amplifiers from Dynacord to power the system.
As audio provider for the main stage, Mason Sound has come to rely on the X2 system to satisfy the diverse range of artists that play there. “This is our third year using the X2 here, and it just keeps getting better,” says company president Dave Mason. “With everything from country and pop music to hard rock and rap, it’s a great showcase. Adding the new Dynacord amps really takes it to another level in terms of headroom, control and reliability.”
Each TGX20 offers 20,000 watts of power across four channels, so just 16 amps were required to power Mason Sound’s entire system. With full networking and sophisticated DSP capability with FIR-Drive for loudspeaker optimization, the TXG20 amps enhanced the X2 system’s ability to deliver cohesive sound from the infield stage, across the racetrack to the 9,000-seat grandstand.
To cover the grandstand area from the infield of the racetrack, Mason Sound flew twin 18-box line arrays of X2-212/120 full-range elements, supported by 32 X12-128 subwoofers, deployed in two massive four-by-four stacks on either side of the stage. For nights when the extreme ends of the grandstand were filled, the subs were flanked by two outfill arrays consisting of six X2-212 loudspeakers. Four Electro-Voice XLD281 line array loudspeakers were spread across the stage lips as front fills. The entire system was Dante networked via Ethernet and controlled through the Electro-Voice NetMax N8000 system controller.
Mason Sound systems engineer Jason Hebron is a big fan of the new amps: “Having 20,000 watts from four channels in two rack spaces was amazing. Last year we ran the same system with 36 amps; now it’s just 16 Dynacord TGX amps,” he reports. “One rack of four amps powers both the main 18-box X2 arrays and the six outfills; another rack of four handles the 16 dual-18 subs. Plus everything is still fully networked, so you have total control along with headroom for days, which all the touring engineers loved.”
Equipment list:
— 16x Dynacord TGX20 power amplifiers
— 48x Electro-Voice X2-212/120 line array loudspeakers
— 32x Electro-Voice X12-128 subwoofers
— 4x Electro-Voice XLD281 line array loudspeakers
— 1x Electro-Voice NetMax N8000 system controller
