Outline Butterfly line arrays headed up the sound reinforcement system for the recent 2010 edition of the Global Competitiveness Forum, held at the Four Seasons Hotel, in the Kingdom Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Founded by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) in 2006, the annual Global Competitiveness Forum features eminent political leaders, CEOs and others from around the world who meet and exchange ideas.
This year’s event featured Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, Michael Dell, Founder/CEO of Dell, John Chambers, Chairman/CEO of Cisco Systems, James Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank Group, Robert Greifeld, Chief Executive Officer of NASDAQ, among many others.
Events AVP, the Outline distributor for Jordan that is chaired by Sharif Tabbara, was selected to provide sound reinforcement, bringing the necessary experience for the multiple applications required in situations of this type.
Sound reinforcement in the conference hall (50 x 40 x 9 metres), involved the use of dual arrays (six modules each) of Outline Butterfly Hi-Packs, flown to each side of the main stage, joined on the deck by four Outline Subtech 218 SP subwoofers.
Loudspeakers and subwoofers were driven by Outline T Series power amplifiers and XTA processing, with a Yamaha M7CL digital console provided for mixing and control.
Dual compact Outline Micra II SP enclosures provided stage monitoring, and six more of these units provided front fill coverage to the first few rows of seats. The broadcast interview room was also outfitted with six Micra II SP loudspeakers, and four Outline DVS 12 enclosures (in pairs) were used to reinforce the sound in other two halls (each seating 60).
Audio Chief and Front Of House Engineer Carlo Gennaro notes, “In this case, there was no need to work at 135 dB, but to cover the audience perfectly with a very ‘well-mannered’ SPL. There again, we had no alternative, considering the position of the microphones compared to the PA.
“But, as I’ve repeated for years, with a minimum of energy, the Butterfly gives a wonderful intelligibility – it almost seems to ‘breathe’, and it doesn’t matter at what distance. It goes exactly where I point it and you can feel the sound ‘in your face’. I give the merit for this to its waveguide, one of the few that works superbly.”
