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UK: Long-term Martin Audio rental partner, W E Audio, recently underlined its commitment to the British manufacturer, by making a massive investment across the latest Wavefront Precision line array portfolio.

This not only reinforces its promise to deliver best-quality sound for its core event and festival markets, but broaden the scope when it comes to large scale international touring.

Founded by Wayne Barker, W E Audio’s upgraded inventory is headed by Martin Audio’s flagship WPL large format line array, and SXH218 subwoofers, as well as FlexPoint FP12s, TORUS, and XE500 wedge monitors. At the same time, in order to give them further scalability and flexibility, the company has also invested heavily in the smaller WPS and WPC line arrays—all delivered in recent months to its base in Oxfordshire.

Last month saw the production company’s highest profile deployment of the large-format WPL to date—on Seal’s European tour. The core PA design is based around 12 WPL cabinets per side, with six WPS units for front fills, TORUS T1230 speakers on outfill duties, and 16 SXH218 subwoofers—powered by iK42 amps in bridged mode.

WPL offers the flexibility and reliability we need.

System tech Ryan Bass, praised the speed and ease of getting the PA rigged and how he faced the unique challenge of sub placement due to the stage design (with a set of steps emerging down from the stage, allowing Seal to engage with the audience).

His careful attention to the subwoofer placement ensured uniform delivery across the venue, providing a seamless audio experience in keeping with Seal’s dynamic stage presence.

As for the artist’s experienced sound engineer Tim Weidner—an association that dates back three decades—he said the Martin Audio rig had made the transition from his more familiar studio habitat to the FOH position, a seamless one.

He explained, “As far as setting up the system I leave this to the team. All I know is at the end of the day whether the PA sounds good or not … and this particular PA sounds fantastic, probably one of the best I’ve heard. I’m very impressed with how punchy and clear it is.”

Being from a studio background, he says he could simply relax into the mix—knowing that it had been set up properly—and just enjoy the whole mixing process. “These guys really make it easy, so it’s been good fun.

“In fact it reminds me of sitting in between the speakers in a control room—[the Martin Audio PA] is just not harsh, whereas other systems that we’ve used have been a little bit harsh, especially in the high mids. This was very smooth, and the low end is very tight, so I love it. In fact I want this one all the time!”

The behaviour of WPL had fully justified the investment, which had been the outcome of a rigorous evaluation process. As Wayne Barker explained, W E Audio had explored multiple options before choosing to maintain their relationship with Martin Audio—a move that reflects the strength of the partnership.

“WPL offers the flexibility and reliability we need,” stated Barker. “Our clients expect quick, seamless deployment and exceptional sound quality, and WPL delivers just that. It’s the ideal choice for our evolving needs.” This positions them as a key player in the UK market.

This was echoed by Martin Audio Sales Director, Brad Watson: “W E Audio’s investment is a great example of the synergy between our two companies. Their ability to quickly deploy high-quality sound solutions aligns perfectly with our mission to provide best-in-class audio technology.”

NETHERLANDS: One of the more unusual venues that has recently been installed with a Martin Audio CDD sound solutions, is a hybrid wedding venue and town hall council chamber, situated in the Dutch municipality of Borsele.

Martin Audio partners and audio-visual specialists, FvL Audio, carried out the installation at the venue, known as ‘De Boerderij’—a traditional style, 100-year-old farmhouse.

Over the years, FvL owner Frank van Loenhout says his company has carried out multiple touchscreen installations in Borsele, which is located on a central location in the province of Zeeland. He has also undertaken numerous other upgrades in the neighbouring municipalities in the region “although mostly the audio systems were not as old as here!”

At De Boerderij, FvL Audio were tasked with replacing a 20-year-old ancient 100V line system. “Although the system still worked, it sounded terrible,” he says. “We were asked to install a system suitable for weddings in the Wedding Hall, Council Meetings in the Council Chamber, as well as other events.”

Frank van Loenhout had fallen in love with Martin Audio’s coaxial technology after acquiring FlexPoint FP8 for their rental fleet (*) And so when it came to the De Boerderij installation, he approached Martijn de Jong at Ampco Flashlight Group, Martin Audio’s Dutch distributor, for advice, and promptly received a pair of the hugely popular CDD6, using similar coaxial differential dispersion technology, for testing. “The sound quality was great, and so we decided to use them in our design for De Boerderij,” he explained. “It was a great match for this venue—placement was easy, and coverage fits the venue very well.”

The mayor can speak wirelessly to every room in the building, and be assured of great sound quality,

At the main entrance, a pair of CDD 6 are set in the roof and delayed—tapped to the distance between the entrance and the Wedding Hall (to the left) and the Council Chamber (to the right) so that walking through the various rooms no annoying delay is audible.

The Council Chamber is served by a conference system. Here FvL have installed four CDD6 overhead, and a further pair above the audience (at balcony level). Meanwhile, under the balcony is a Martin Audio ADORN A55 fill speaker in white, appropriately delayed.

In the Wedding Hall, upgraded sound reinforcement was required for speeches and music playback from USB or computer. In this location are four further CDD 6 speakers, with a pair of CDD 5 speakers as infill, and a concealed SX112 (1 x 12in) subwoofer for the low frequencies. “It was forbidden to have the subwoofer visible,” notes van Loenhout.

The entire system is on a digital routing matrix, so that for other meetings, they can send any source to any room, he explains. “In other words, the mayor can speak wirelessly to every room in the building, and be assured of great sound quality.”

The client is also delighted with the upgraded sound—which ensures both council proceedings and wedding celebrations can be heard with greater clarity and intelligibility. Administrators at the venue described the sound upgrade as “a major step forward”.

(*) Footnote: FvL Audio’s move into the Martin Audio family had begun when, in December last year, they were looking to replace some of their hire system speakers. They auditioned several brands “but the clear winner was the [FlexPoint] FP8,” said the FvL owner. “So we immediately bought eight of them.

“Dcase provided nice flight cases, K&M the round-base speaker stands, and it’s powered by a Martin Audio iK42. And so we are not only providing superb sound quality but also great looks.”

These have rarely been in the warehouse, he says. “We use them for all our corporate events, mostly at Van Der Valk Hotel Middelburg, but also recently in the VIP area at our local football club and in October at the Oyster Festival in Yerseke.

“So you can say that first test drive started our love affair with Martin Audio. In fact we’ve just received our newly ordered FP4 for use as frontfills and as a mini-sound system.“

US: Specialising in Audio Production, Music Production, Show Production and Recording Arts degrees, Full Sail University recently commissioned a new Dolby Atmos-enabled facility for class sessions, workshops, listening experiences and guest lectures at its Winter Park, FL campus. Playout of the ‘objects based’ spatial concept is uniquely via 26 carefully selected, and strategically located loudspeakers from the Martin Audio catalogue.

One of the largest, and most advanced Dolby Atmos rooms on a university campus, according to Education Director of Audio Arts, Brandon Egerton, this had been a topic of discussion for a number of years. “But we needed to make sure we were wrapping our arms around the right technology. We felt it was important to have a solid understanding of both the emerging technology and also how the industry intended on adopting it and so we intentionally took our time.”

Along with Darren Schneider, who is in charge of Full Sail’s Advanced Session Recording they utilised existing industry collaborations to gain “a really intimate perspective of the production workflow.”

“We already have a 7.1 dub stage on campus, but we wanted to create an additional dedicated space for our students to explore and engage with the Atmos format. The biggest challenge for any educational institution is the ability to teach a larger number of students a format in an intimate setting. This new classroom facility allows us to do that.”

Taking up the story, Michael Orlowski, Director of Technical Services, explained how the classroom space was originally designed as a 5.1 large audio classroom. He noted, “This room was frequently used for courses focused on surround sound and multichannel audio, making it a perfect candidate for renovation and an upgrade to Dolby Atmos.”

Seeking the ideal playout for such discreet and localised positioning of an object-based format led Full Sail to the Focusrite Group and their engagement with Martin Audio. “Our goal in creating this space was how do we accurately demonstrate the Dolby Atmos format … hear the immersive properties of an Atmos mix and the separation between ceiling speakers, side speakers and rear speakers? And so, our approach was to consult with our manufacturers who specialize in high quality installation-class audio systems.”

“We’re extremely happy with this outcome.”

“We had a roadmap meeting with Focusrite Group where we were first looking at installation classroom speakers for [Martin Audio’s] O-Line product, giving students in the first row and students in the last row the same optimised experience.”

Schneider said that while their interest was piqued by O-Line for this application, their focus then pivoted to the discreet coaxial differential dispersion technology of CDD. The Dolby Atmos SPL spec of 85dB in the 100-seat space was achieved once they had upgraded to the CDD12 and increased the original sub capability. “Dolby has a 20dB headroom, and although we’ll never achieve 105dB we have limited maximum level that the teacher can set in the room to 85dB SPL.” A global system touch panel control panel ensures this.

Full Sail’s end result was to specify three of the largest CDD12 as a conventional L/C/R system, with students and guests enveloped in a (side/rear/overhead) surround system comprising 12 CDD8 (four per wall) and eight Martin Audio C8.1T series speakers overhead. LF extension is delivered through a pair of SX118 (1 x 18in) subs, with a matched pair at the rear,

Fellow Focusrite partners, Linea Research have provided the engine, in the form of pure Class D amplification, with a 44C10 4-channel DSP amp driving the L/C/R CDD12s and front pair of LFE’s, and three 8-channel Linea Research 88C03 assigned to everything else.

Orlowski explained how they had arrived at this integrated solution. “When we met with Martin Audio, we learned about the asymmetrical dispersion that the CDD range provided, and its ability to work well with an existing classroom that has a drop ceiling.”

Dolby were very specific about speaker placement and angulation, he said, in order to meet the specification required using Dolby’s DARDT room design tool. “Having ingested all the information on the CDD speakers it was straightforward to go through the product line to find which speakers we needed.”

Assisted by Martin Audio’s technical specialists Brad Stephens and Joe Lima, he said, “Martin Audio was great to work with. We could take those specifications, put them into DARDT, and have Dolby look at the plan.” This included roof predictions taking into account intrusion of HVAC, projection positions etc. “We could input into the DARDT and simulate what the performance was going to be, and as we made adjustments Brad and Joe would join us on Zoom calls to make changes as to how many amplifiers we were going to need.”

And it was the dedicated DSP of the Linea Research amplifiers that provided a real plus point. As Michael Orlowski pointed out, “Since this classroom would be hosting multiple degree programs and demonstrating the software of Avid Pro Tools, Apple Logic and so on, we didn’t wish to put the room corrective EQ, including delays into [DADman control software], only for any of those settings to change in a lecture, and then not be properly recalled …shifting the Dolby curve that we had tried so hard to hit.” So instead, all corrective EQ is stored within the Linea Research amps. “Everything else is set up in a flat recallable preset so we can teach the technology, but it doesn’t change the sound characteristics of what the speakers and amplifiers are doing.”

Feeding the speakers is an Avid Pro Tools AVID MTRX II. The signal comes out over Dante and passes through a QSys Core, feeding the Linea Research amplifiers, again within Dante.

Aside from their satisfaction with the Martin Audio CDD deployment, Full Sail’s takeaway was the Linea Research amplification. Orlowski further stated “Martin Audio came out and did training to run the System Engineer software. We did straight-out-of-the-box tuning and voicing with Martin Audio, and Dolby then tuned the room with two presets: one matches Dolby’s modified X-curve for music and home entertainment, the second was a more flat, corrected response. The tuning presets are stored in Linea Research, and we used the Linea Research plug-in on QSys to switch between the two tunings.”

The new room was commissioned in August, road ready for their first major event when industry legend Bob Clearmountain hosted two educational sessions exclusively for Full Sail University students in the space, sponsored by Apogee.

In conclusion, Michael Orlowski, acknowledged, “We’re extremely happy with this outcome.”

INDIA: The OnTime Hotel in Mumbai has upgraded its events spaces with Martin Audio systems, provided by VMT Distribution. Serving both corporate guests and tourists alike, the hotel chose to install new audio systems to provide top-quality audio for diverse occasions, while blending into the venue’s existing décor.

The management team wanted a new solution for various spaces, particularly the banquet halls that host corporate functions, weddings and entertainment events. One of the key considerations during the project was that the installation had to be done without disrupting the day-to-day operations of the hotel. The team had to work around tight schedules, installing the sound system in stages while ensuring the minimal impact on hotel guests and events. Additionally, the varied room acoustics across the two banquet halls required strategic placement of the speakers to ensure even sound distribution.

Several Martin Audio V.15 units were chosen for the hotel. According to VMT, the 15-inch passive 2-way loudspeaker has provided excellent sound clarity and power, handling both music and speech. Its on-wall design allowed it to be installed discreetly, preserving the aesthetics of the banquet halls.

“The installation of the Martin Audio V.15 system has been revolutionary for us at The OnTime Hotel,” commented Shusheel Rao, systems integrator, The OnTime Hotel. “The sound quality is exceptional, delivering crystal-clear audio that enhances every event we host, from corporate meetings to large-scale weddings. Not only has it transformed the overall guest experience, but it has also allowed us to meet the high expectations of our clientele.”

“The installation at The OnTime Hotel reflects a growing trend within the hospitality industry, where high-quality sound systems are becoming essential for creating immersive guest experiences,” remarked Jeff Mandot, director, VMT. “Projects like this not only meet the immediate needs of the client but also set a new standard for audio installations in similar venues across the country.”

PORTUGAL: Since the inauguration of Portugal’s Golden Globes awards ceremony back in 1996, production company Auditiv Audiovisuais has supported the event with advanced sound reinforcement and broadcast.

The company recently returned to the 4,300-capacity Coliseu dos Recreios in Lisbon with a Martin Audio WPC line array, providing the auditorium sound for the first time at the 2024 edition.

According to Auditiv directors Daniel Bekerman and João Escada, who also served as the event’s technical directors, the decision to deploy this advanced scalable PA was largely driven by a desire for innovation. They recognised that this solution would adapt to the space, be visually unobtrusive, provide improved coverage and adhere to the venue’s significant weight limitations.

“The WPC met this demanding challenge in every way possible.”

Two hangs of 12 WPC speakers were deployed—powered by Martin Audio iKON amplifiers, in 2-box resolution. Low-frequency extension was provided by SX218B, with Blackline X12 handling near-fill and outfill coverage, as well as stage sidefills. LE1200 wedge monitors completed the setup in a 100% Martin Audio deployment.

To ensure fully optimised sound, Auditiv utilised Martin Audio’s DISPLAY2 predictive software, VU-Net for control and SMAART for integrating the front fills, outfills and subs with the main system. System tech Isaac Bugalho was tasked with bringing the best out of the WPC. He was joined at FOH by Tiago Mendes, while Guilherme Vales managed the monitors.

Auditiv also handled the broadcast mix, sending splits via an Optocore/DiGiCo fibre loop.

The event was hosted by Clara de Sousa, one of Portugal’s leading journalists and TV presenters, with each award presented by different guests. The event production company was SIC – Sociedade Independente de Televisão. The evening’s content comprised a mix of various award presentations and live music, including a resident classical orchestra.

Summing up the event, Daniel Bekerman said he was “100% happy” with the Martin Audio performance. “Although we were very satisfied with the system used in previous years, the use of WPC brought improvements, mainly in terms of coverage uniformity.

“With two balconies and a VIP audience, including TV station representatives, the venue is very challenging, and the audience very demanding. With WPC, we were able to use more speakers, achieve better vertical dispersion, and maintain a wider 100° horizontal dispersion. All this was accomplished with less flown weight (the venue has tight limits), a reduced footprint (always important on a TV show), and a simpler, faster rigging setup, making coordination with video, scenery and lighting crews easier.

“The WPC met this demanding challenge in every way possible.”