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There is a school of thought that micro line arrays are only good for vocal applications. This misconception comes from the type of projects where such a sound reinforcement system usually excels. However, these small format cabinets can also deliver much more musicality than people expect.

When consultants are recommending micro line arrays, it is usually due to a combination of two common factors. First, the application requires a sound system that will not take away from the aesthetics of a space. And second, the venue requires tight control over the audio to ensure intelligibility.

This combination means that houses of worship are often the most common application for micro line array systems like Martin Audio’s O-Line. And the reaction of users in that setting is overwhelmingly positive. “We are extremely satisfied with the performance of O-Line,” said Zachary Ward, Director of Communications, First Pentecostal Church in North Little Rock, Arkansas. “With such a unique room, including 42ft-high ceilings and several stained-glass windows reaching more than 28ft tall, O-Line provides even coverage and clarity while accomplishing our main goal, preserving the overall aesthetic of the room.”

“THEY WERE ECSTATIC ABOUT THE SYSTEM AND BLOWN AWAY WITH THE INTELLIGIBILITY AND MUSICALITY OF THE O-LINE SYSTEM.”

When Martin Audio first released its CDD series, with all the benefits of coaxial differential dispersion technology, Kentucky-based JCA Media immediately jumped onboard. According to their project manager, Alex Peake, that’s when they became a convert to the British manufacturer’s signature sound.

With Houses of Worship as one of their core installation segments, he says, “We have since used CDD of all sizes, including the weatherised versions. With their asymmetric pattern, they sound awesome—smooth and warm.” JCA Media then discovered Martin Audio’s Blackline X8, and with it a perfect wedge monitor complement.

Then finally, along came TORUS, Martin Audio’s latest advanced constant curvature solution —and the series arrival caused the company to re-specify a HoW system that they had been asked to design for First United Methodist Church—situated an hour away from their base in the south-central Kentucky city of Somerset.

“The church first reached out in November 2019 after seeing our work on Facebook—but then COVID intervened,” reports Peake. “In fact I was quoting this installation six or eight months before TORUS came out and had a different brand specified.

“But with a throw distance of around 70ft the client was reluctant to have another delay system—they wanted the new system tucked in and tidy and didn’t want anything visible on the floor.” In demoing other single point source systems Alex Peake found he was losing volume at the back of the room. “But TORUS changed all that.”

He was already sufficiently conversant with constant curvature technology and the pedigree of Martin Audio to obviate the need for a demo—and so flew straight in and specified the system.

“I knew TORUS would be perfect for a medium throw application such as this and it was also minimally obtrusive.” The project manager’s design to create even coverage over the 300 congregants—in both service modes—was based around a three-box hang, driven in one-box resolution from an iKON iK81 process control amplifier to give ultimate shading flexibility.

A single T1230 at the base gives full 90° coverage, with the top two T1215s running at 60°. “This was to keep the sound off the ceiling and walls, and it enabled us to control the horizontal dispersion. The horizontal waveguide would tighten up the sound disappearing up into the vaulted all-wood ceiling and at the same time would eliminate the need for a front fill. So it all came into play perfectly and provided multiple solutions.”

However, it was the cardioid SXCF118 sub flown behind the hang that had been the real revelation, he said, and was specified because the church wanted a ‘blended’ service to complement its traditional mass. “The SXCF118 blew our minds,” said Peake. “That vaulted ceiling almost served like a natural horn, with the single 18” vibrating off the ceiling.”

Finally, wedge monitors are in the shape of four Blackline X8.

However, there was still a place for CDD in the installation. Downstairs is a smaller, separate area for a more contemporary service and, as with upstairs, an ancient sound system was ripped out to be replaced with a CDD6 L/C/R set up, underpinned by an SX112 sub tucked away on a semi-portable stage.

All of which has delighted the Church’s Technical Director, Aaron Denney. “The Martin Audio array and amps are amazing,” he enthused. “They provide targeted coverage in every row of the pews. They have more than met project goals and greatly exceeded our expectations. One staff member referred to it as a ‘300 times improvement’ for a space that has many complicated issues when it comes to live sound.

“All in all, a job well done.”

September 15 marks the commemoration of the Grito de Independencia (or Mexican Independence Day)¬—the most important ceremony in the country.This year it was able to resume again in front of an audience at the Zócalo in the centre of Mexico City after two years of being held remotely due to the COVID pandemic. According to official calculations more than 160,000 people celebrated the national holiday out on the streets again.

The vastly experienced Norteño group, Los Tigres del Norte—famed throughout the Latam countries—headlined the event with a show that lasted more than three hours.

The production work was carried out by the company KW, and for the third consecutive year Martin Audio systems were used as the main PA for the Ceremony. They provided audio coverage for a site measuring 46,800 sq.m.

For the presidential protocol, four clusters of MLA were designated, one pair with 11 MLA plus an MLD Downfill, and a further pair of outhangs with eight cabinets and an MLD (providing 120°H x 20°V dispersion).The main hangs covered a distance of 150 metres and the lateral clusters 130 metres.

On monitors and sidefills were Martin Audio’s Blackline F10+ and WPM series—servicing both the Mexican Army Chorus and the speech delivered by the President of the Republic, Mr. Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador. For the Chorus’s monitoring the four Blackline F10+ were fed from iK42 amps and for the presidential monitoring, four WPM per side, in stereo format, were set in the presidential box.

THIS SYSTEM DELIVERS THE RESULT THAT ANY ENGINEER IS LOOKING FOR IN TERMS OF AUDIO QUALITY, POWER OUTPUT, CONTROL AND DESIGN.

Martin Audio partner Soundworks of Virginia equipped the five main stages of the long-running Richmond Folk Festival, an annual celebration of American culture and roots music, with the manufacturer’s state-of-the-art optimizable Wavefront Precision line array speakers.

Promoted by Venture Richmond, a non-profit organization, this three-day free festival, with which Soundworks have been involved for more than a decade, is held annually in the city’s downtown Riverfront Plaza area—spanning an area of almost 20 acres. An offshoot of the National Folk Festival, it is one of the largest events in Virginia, drawing around 200,000 visitors from across the country and featuring more than 30 global artists.

Some 130 Martin Audio components were specified across the site, and Soundworks’ founder and CEO, Steve Payne, notes that this exhausted all 124 available channels of their 31 iKON iK42 amplifiers, which were detailed to drive the various PA rigs in 2-box resolution.

For the main Altria amphitheatre stage they turned to Martin Audio’s largest format WP, fielding 12 WPL enclosures per side, over three SXH218 per side. Four WPS were deployed for frontfills, with an additional CDD-LIVE 15 on top of an SXP218 on each stage flank for sidefills.

The smaller Dominion Energy Dance Pavilion (under an 80ft x 160ft tent) saw eight WPC flown per side over two SXH218 subs bridged per side, with CDD-LIVE 15 over an SXP218 on each wing providing sidefills. In addition, 10 Martin Audio XE500s were provided as stage monitors.

The CoStar Group Stage was rigged in an 80ft x 120ft tent with six WPS flown per side over two SXC118 subs. The CarMax Stage was similarly configured but with the addition of four XP12s as outfills and delays. Finally, the smallest of the tents (50ft x 100ft) housed the Virginia Folk Life Stage where four WPC were stacked on top of an SXH218 subwoofer on each side.