The Big Boom
Eighth Day deployed 72 subwoofers in the air and on the ground to deliver the driving low-end that’s a signature of hip-hop.
The main arrays where joined by two hangs of a dozen E119 subs, with 48 more E119s ground stacked – 24 per side – under each main array.
The new E119, developed with input from Eighth Day, met the sound company’s need for a powerful, compact sub that would pack well into trucks on both sides of the Atlantic as well as sea containers.
It utilizes a long-excursion 19-inch Kevlar neodymium cone driver – with a 5-inch voice coil and dual-spider suspension for added stability – that’s front loaded in the enclosure.
“It was a very loud show, running around 110 dB and never below 102 dB, and the HF and MF never went to the limit,” Alkire notes. “The subs were rock solid and performed very well, tight and punchy with a nice low end extending below 40 Hz.
All loudspeakers were driven by 48 Lab.gruppen PLM 20K44 power amplifiers offering a 4-in/4-out configuration and equipped with a new Lake core module, Dante network signal distribution, and system control and monitoring. The amplifiers were rack mounted and located under the stage.
“The PLM 20K44 with Lake and Dante is very impressive,” Alkire says. “They certainly delivered for this show, even exceeding Lab.gruppen’s reputation for exceptional power and reliability. Only 10 amplifiers total were required to power all of the subs.”
Non-Stop Music
Front-of-house, located 150 feet from the stage, was equipped with two identical Avid VENUE Profile consoles to handle the mixes of several guest engineers, with Alkire and other Eighth Day personnel also stepping in to mix when needed. The pair of consoles, designated “A” and “B,” switched from one to the other each time a new act took the stage.
Each Profile fed into a custom shout rack loaded with a production mixer, intercom systems and three Lake LM44 processors that matrixed together the consoles to the PA as well as provided a feed to Sirius Satellite radio and Hot 97 (WQHT, New York), both of which broadcast live throughout the event.
“With the turntable stage the music was non-stop,” adds Alkire. “When one act finished performing the show would transition directly to a DJ or emcee located off stage while the stage would rotate to the next act – once the concert started it was back to back to back. There was a lot of music packed into 10 hours.”
Performers could utilize Shure PSM 1000 personal monitoring systems with their own in-ear monitors, while both Shure UHF-R and Sennheiser SKM 5200 wireless were available. Up to 12 channels were in use at certain points, without a glitch.
Monitor engineers were provided with the same console package and configuration as the house system. On stage, up to 20 d&b audiotechnik wedges could be deployed, with fill supplied by compact d&b arrays on top of subwoofers positioned both stage left and right.
Alkire concludes that audio production went off without a hitch, with the rotating stage and dual-console approach making for fast, smooth transitions.
He’s also pleased with his company’s new main system.
“Everyone who mixed was very happy with the new PA. There was far less cancellation or interaction between the sub boxes than in previous years. The end result was very clean and tight, which is so important at an event as loud as this.”