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ShowTec Chooses WorxAudio For PETCO Corporate Event

Poway, CA-based ShowTec recently provided sound reinforcement for a major corporate theater event hosted by PETCO, a leading specialty retailer of premium pet food, supplies, and services with over 850 stores in 49 states and the District of Columbia.

To ensure superior delivery of both speech and music reproduction for this event, ShowTec deployed its newly-acquired TrueLIne line array system from WorxAudio Technologies.

The PETCO Annual Leadership Summit was held at the Gaylord Resort and Convention Center National Harbor near Washington, DC. With approximately 1,740 people in attendance, the ShowTec team had to address a number of challenges, as Peter Carpentier, ShowTec’s chief audio engineer explained.

“All of the wall and ceiling surfaces in the ballroom where this event took place were very hard and reflective,” notes Carpentier. “The room itself was approximately 280 feet long by 175 feet wide and the actual coverage area measured 200 feet by 130 feet.

“The set was 120 feet wide and extended from the floor right up to the ceiling with projected video images from our Catalyst video server. These circumstances forced our main PA system very wide, with the two loudspeaker clusters 60 feet off center.”

Under Carpentier’s supervision, the ShowTec crew flew six WorxAudio TLV8T-P self-powered line array modules plus a single TLV8TDF-P self-powered down fill element per side. “These two clusters were flown with a trim height of 26 feet,” said Carpentier. “With a distance of 120 feet between the two arrays, I must admit that I was concerned about adequate coverage in the middle.

“To address this, I hung a center cluster of small trap boxes to fill in the middle but ended up not using them because the coverage and imaging of the WorxAudio line array system was so impressive.”

In addition to providing superior speech reinforcement and audio for video playback during the PETCO event, the system was also used to handle a rather ambitious music program. Musical entertainment was provided by The Original Voices of Rock n’ Roll, which included Jimi Jamison of Survivor, Bobby Kimball of Toto, Skip Martin of The Dazz Band and Kool and the Gang, along with Mickey Thomas and Starship as the backing band. According to Carpentier, “The WorxAudio TLV8’s bridged both worlds flawlessly.”

In addition to the WorxAudio TrueLine loudspeakers’ compact form factor that makes for efficient truck pack and their self-powered design that minimizes cable clutter and streamlines setup, Carpentier was also impressed with the system’s rigging hardware.

“The system’s fully captive rigging system is very intuitive and easy to use,” said Carpentier. “This makes flying the system far easier and you don’t have to be as concerned about losing parts during transport.

“Further, all of us at ShowTec are big believers in the self-powered approach to speaker design and, for us; this is yet another attractive feature of the WorxAudio TrueLine system. For our applications, the TLV8 is the perfect combination of size, weight, and performance.”

Reflecting on ShowTec’s newly acquired WorxAudio line array system, Carpentier offered these closing thoughts before turning his attention to his next project.

“During the evaluation process,” said Carpentier, “those of us involved in the purchase decision-making process felt that the TLV8’s had excellent tonal balance and out-performed all of the ‘big name’ competitors that we auditioned. In the end, we liked the WorxAudio setup so much that we told Hugh (Hugh Sarvis, WorxAudio CEO) he couldn’t have his demo system back. We, of course, had to pay for it!”

Carpentier continued, “All of our shows require both excellent speech reinforcement and dynamic full range music reinforcement. However, it’s the look and vibe of the show that sets ShowTec apart from our competitors, which often means that the PA has to be placed out of view. The WorxAudio TrueLine system gives me the tools to satisfy both criteria.”

For more information:
WorxAudio Technologies Website

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