On the day before the Super Bowl last February, the major hits on an NFL playing field were at the O.co Coliseum in Oakland, California, supported by PK Sound Trinity arrays.
A sell-out general admission crowd of 25,000 ardent EDM fans showed up to celebrate the big weekend featuring an impressive line-up of favorites including headliners Alesso, Diplo, Chainsmokers and Chromeo.
“We made history in the Bay Area with the first Electronic Dance Music festival at O.co Coliseum, and the largest to ever happen in the city of Oakland, period,” says Ari Berger, production manager for World Town, who co-produced the show along with Midnite Events. “Producing a show of this size is a huge team effort, and a key member of that team was PK Sound. After all, the fans are there not just to hear music, but to get the full concert experience. The Trinity sound system gave them exactly that. We were able to ensure that everyone at the event, no matter where they were in the stadium, enjoyed the full-on transparent sound that connected them directly with the performers.”
The sprawling field of O.co required a system with long throw, exceptional power and wide coverage. To meet the demands of the unique venue, Trinity was deployed in two 16-module arrays coupled with 8 VX10’s on each side, providing full coverage from the centrally located stage. A sub wall consisting of 60 dual 18” CX800 subwoofers fortified the low-end requirements, and a DJ monitor rig was set up on stage with 6 VX10’s and 2 additional CX800’s.
Arlen Cormack, VP of Touring for PK Sound, noted that this was a monumental first for PK Sound and its Trinity speaker system as well.
“It was our first time working an outdoor NFL stadium,” says Cormack. “In a venue that large and open, our biggest consideration was achieving full coverage. The stage was on the edge of the field, so we had to reach audience members as far as 350′ way. Because of the power of Trinity, though, we did not need sound field delays. It worked out great. We had VX10’s for the side hang, and Trinity did the all the hard work.”
Sound engineer PJ Miller said “for the purpose of clean sightlines to the stage, we deployed the 60 cabinet bass wall in a formation that at center stage was stacked 2 boxes high, and on the sides it was 3 boxes high. It was a unique challenge working with this formation since the output of the subs needed to be configured to ensure smooth coverage at all locations within the venue. Further to that, we had employed arc delays to fit the unique venue shape – we needed to get the sound out to the edges of the circular venue, and prevent reflection from the concrete wall that separated the field from the first tier of seating.”
Super City 50 was yet another proving ground for Trinity since the system was launched in 2015. The loudspeaker – with its patented features that allow remote positioning and adjustments after the array is flown and at any time during a concert – has been taking on major venues. Trinity is proving without a doubt that it can deliver sound for even the largest of concert venues, and for any genre of music.
“Trinity is pleasing more and more fans at larger and larger events,” says Cormack. “Just as importantly, it’s earning the confidence and trust of major producers each and every time.”
