Martin Audio’s Asia-Pacific distributor, Generation AV, has officially opened the doors to its new Experience Centre in Ubi, Singapore. Designed to serve as both a regional training facility and an integrated demonstration space, the centre showcases the latest audio solutions from Martin Audio as well as sister brands TiMax, Optimal Audio and Linea Research.
“Our goal was to build an environment where clients can get up-close and fully experience Martin Audio systems in person,” explains David McKinney, Managing Director at Generation AV. “Together with showcasing the products, the vision for the facility is to be a natural gathering place where clients and partners alike can learn, network, and collaborate.”
Generation AV views Singapore as the ideal hub for the Asia-Pacific territory. “Singapore is the central location in Asia; it’s very easy to get to for a lot of our clients,” McKinney said. “Many partners and customers can stop by on short trips, even whilst they are transiting around the region.”
OUR GOAL WAS TO BUILD AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE CLIENTS CAN GET UP-CLOSE AND FULLY EXPERIENCE MARTIN AUDIO SYSTEMS IN PERSON.
The new Experience Centre is roughly double the size of the company’s previous space, providing greater flexibility in its demonstration space, together with dedicated offices to facilitate private customer meetings. In addition to the Martin Audio product showcase, visitors can experience a TiMax spatial audio demonstration built around Martin Audio FlexPoint loudspeakers.
“Our initial experience centre concept proved very successful, drawing strong engagement and feedback from across the region,” says McKinney. “The new centre takes this to the next level, with market-focused solutions and a strong emphasis on education and training.”
For McKinney, this educational emphasis reflects a broader shift in customer demand. “I think there’s a big hunger for learning right now in the industry,” he observes. “We expect to host a lot more education initiatives here, such as training programmes, alongside our standard product demonstrations.”
The opening of the Experience Centre represents the next major step in the company’s rapid evolution. Originally starting with just a single employee, Generation AV has expanded to include offices in Singapore and Mumbai, and now boasts a team of 14 staff members. Alongside this physical growth, the company has heavily increased its focus on technical support and applications, responding directly to the rising market demand for system expertise.
For McKinney, the investment in the new Ubi facility represents a long-term commitment to their brands and customers rather than a short-term gain. “If we can show off our products and brands in the best way, that definitely makes it much easier to do business,” he concludes. “This is a natural next step.”
Martin Audio has announced the full commercial release of DISPLAY 3, its next-generation 3D audio prediction and optimisation software, following an extensive beta programme.
Built for speed and precision, DISPLAY 3 delivers substantially faster prediction and optimisation processing than previous versions, allowing system designers to iterate rapidly across complex venue models without compromising measured accuracy, verified to within ±1dB of real-world performance.
For Wavefront Precision line array systems, DISPLAY 3 combines mechanical angle optimisation with advanced DSP filtering to configure arrays automatically against user-defined SPL and frequency response targets. This is now delivered at high speed so users can easily design, optimise, redesign and re-optimise to compare and contrast and ensure the ultimate performance for a venue or space.
Enhanced voicing consistency across the Wavefront Precision series maintains a uniform tonal signature throughout a system, whatever its configuration, scale or optimisation settings. The handling of natural sound rejection behind and below the array has also been improved.Martin Audio’s Hard Avoid® feature can further extend this effect by up to 30dB or apply the same control more strategically elsewhere in the venue, such as a hard back wall, a sensitive boundary or any zone where the system needs to actively reduce sound levels.
THE VOICING GAINS IN DISPLAY 3… WILL KEEP WAVEFRONT PRECISION AT THE FRONT OF THE LINE ARRAY MARKET FOR YEARS TO COME.
DISPLAY 3 also introduces a new “Don’t Care” designation, which lets users mark areas of a model where coverage and SPL targets do not apply. The optimisation engine leaves those areas out of the DSP calculation and works only on the areas that matter. Users can also create and store multiple optimisation snapshots, so a single model can hold separate settings for different audience or environmental conditions.
Beyond optimisation, DISPLAY 3 continues to offer full system prediction across the wider Martin Audio portfolio with seamless SketchUp integration for venue modelling. Configurations generated in the software upload directly to iKON amplifiers via VU-NET™, which has itself benefited from a recent upgrade. The dedicated subwoofer array design tool is also retained, gaining additional configuration options while following the existing workflow.
VU-NET™ 2.3.5 targets reliability in large-scale deployments, adding two tools for verifying a system in the field before doors open. LED Mode illuminates Wavefront Precision cabinet LEDs in sequence or individually, confirming the physical order of an array at a glance, while Mute Mode steps through each cabinet in turn to verify audio routing.
Engineers can also save a diagnostic file directly from any iKON amplifier on the network, capturing the unit’s stored internal state across fault and protection counters, configuration and performance history, which shortens the time spent tracing a fault. Performance improves significantly across ganging, metering, snapshot recall and large project trees.
Dom Harter, Managing Director, commented, “The voicing gains in DISPLAY 3, alongside the speed improvements and the enhanced optimisation tools, will keep Wavefront Precision at the front of the line array market for years to come, across both live sound and permanent installation, and the VU-NET™ release gives users smooth, reliable control of those systems.”
DISPLAY 3 is available now as a free download for Mac and PC.
For more information, visit martin-audio.com/products/software/display3
UK – The Rebellion Festival is the largest independently run punk festival in the UK. Hosted inside Blackpool’s historic Winter Gardens, the festival features more than 300 live acts spread across six stages. Held over four days, it brings together tens of thousands of punk fans, musicians, and artists from across the globe.
For the year’s event, multiple Martin Audio Wavefront Precision line array solutions delivered the necessary power and dynamics, including in the Winter Gardens’ magnificent main Ballroom, the Olympia Room (known as Club Casbah for the event), and the Conference Room.
The festival rigs were supplied by Liverpool-based dBS Solutions. “In the main Ballroom, we deployed an all–Martin Audio system centred on WPL large-format line arrays,” explains James Roberts of dBS Solutions. “Club Casbah featured a WPC system, and we worked with the Winter Gardens team to manage and supplement their existing WPS system installed in the Conference Room.”
THIS WAS MY FIRST TIME RUNNING MARTIN AUDIO WPL IN HERE. IT SOUNDED GREAT AND WE HAD HEADROOM FOR DAYS!
The complete Ballroom setup comprised 10 Martin Audio WPL line array elements per side, supplemented by 12 Martin Audio SXH218 subwoofers deployed in a cardioid castle wall configuration. Eight Martin Audio WPS sub-compact line array elements, arranged in four pairs of two, provided front-fill coverage, while a pair of Martin Audio FlexPoint FP12s served as outfills. The Martin Audio coverage continued on stage with XE500 floor monitors, alongside a pair of TORUS constant curvature arrays ground-stacked on a pair of SXC118 subwoofers on each side as side fills.
“The Ballroom is a large space; it’s stunning, but it has a lot of reflective surfaces,” notes Roberts. “We were able to use Martin Audio’s Hard Avoid® feature via the iKON amplifiers – particularly targeting the huge curved ceiling – to help bring down the natural reverberation in the room. That helped immensely. The castellated sub array also worked very well in providing substantial rejection back onto the stage.”
In Club Casbah, the system comprised 10 Martin Audio WPC elements per side, paired with eight SXH218 subwoofers in a cardioid configuration, while six Martin Audio XE300 wedges provided stage monitoring.
Finally, in the Conference Room, the Winter Gardens’ house system of 12 WPS sub-compact line array elements per side was supplemented by dBS-supplied Martin Audio FlexPoint FP12 cabinets as stage monitors.
“This festival is a very fast-paced environment,” Roberts adds. “We have over 120 bands across our stages during the four days of the festival. The Martin Audio systems have been fantastic – exceptionally quick and easy to deploy. We have a crew that knows the systems inside and out, which helps us achieve the sound quality and consistency we need across every room.”
The final word comes from front-of-house engineer Arran Azz Culpan, who has mixed the Ballroom stage at Rebellion for many years. “It’s a fantastic gig,” he concludes. “Rebellion is like a big family, the whole punk scene is amazing. I know this room very well, and this was my first time running Martin Audio WPL in here. It sounded great and we had headroom for days!”
UK – The Millennium Forum, a major theatre and conference centre on Newmarket Street in Derry, Northern Ireland, has celebrated its 25th anniversary by investing in a Martin Audio WPS Wavefront Precision sound system, supplied and installed by Rea Sound.
Opened in 2001, the city’s first purpose-built theatre seats around 1,000 people. “We’ve been working with them really since they opened,” begins Roger McMullan, Director, Rea Sound. “We installed the original PA system and installed or upgraded other elements of the system over the years.”
After close to 20 years, the venue began considering upgrade options around two years ago, with Rea Sound involved as part of a wider discussion on the venue. “We established they were looking for a lot more headroom, clearer sound and better coverage,” explains McMullan.
Crucially, the system needed to deliver for a wide range of productions and events. “They do everything from amateur productions for local schools through to one-man comedians, and up to big West End productions,” he says. “They needed a PA that would cater for all they do.”
Having installed Martin Audio Wavefront Precision line array systems in many theatres in Ireland, Rea Sound knew WPS would provide the solution for the Millenium Forum: “We knew Martin Audio has that signature sound that can cater to everything they wanted to do.”
THE NEW MARTIN AUDIO SYSTEM ENSURES THAT NO MATTER WHAT SEAT YOU’RE IN, YOU WON’T MISS A SINGLE SYLLABLE OF WHAT’S HAPPENING ON STAGE.THE NEW MARTIN AUDIO SYSTEM ENSURES THAT NO MATTER WHAT SEAT YOU’RE IN, YOU WON’T MISS A SINGLE SYLLABLE OF WHAT’S HAPPENING ON STAGE.
The team facilitated visits to other theatres for the Forum’s team to hear Martin Audio kit in action before the project was put out to tender in February. Rea Sound tendered along with others and won.
Installation was timed during a short dark window in the theatre’s busy calendar. “They wanted it in as quickly as possible, but it is a very busy venue,” McMullan says. “We needed three clear days, and so it went in early June. We installed the whole thing in those three days and it went very well.”
The installed system comprises 12 x Martin Audio WPS line array elements flown per side, with a further two boxes ground-stacked above a pair of SX218 subs per side. The ground-stacked elements help provide coverage under the lower balcony, where Martin Audio FlexPoint FP6 loudspeakers also act as under-balcony delays.
Alongside the main PA, Rea Sound delved further into the Martin Audio portfolio to specify a comprehensive monitor and infill system. This comprised six LE200 wedges along with four CDD-LIVE 12 powered speakers, specifically selected to cater to the high outputs often required by visiting DJs.
The whole system is powered by a total of 15 Martin Audio iKON series multi-channel amplifiers. Coverage of every seat in the house was a vital component of the design. “The theatre has two balconies: the lower balcony and “the gods,” along with the ground floor stalls, which go quite far back underneath the balcony where the sound desk is located,” McMullan describes. “That was very key to the audio engineers; they wanted to make sure that what they heard at the desk was what the audience heard. The system is able to do that.”
The team created a model in SketchUp before importing it into Display software. Working closely with the technical team at Martin Audio, they modelled numerous configurations to determine array heights and physical placement.
“When I heard the system in the venue for the first time I was blown away by the audio coverage. Every seat is covered,” McMullan notes. “You’re always sceptical about what the models predict, but in Martin Audio’s case it absolutely does match.”
Impressed by the system, The Millennium Forum’s Technical Manager, Chloe Harkin, highlights the difference it will make on both sides of the stage.
“The new Martin Audio system designed and installed by Rea Sound will completely transform the Millennium Forum experience. For our audiences, it will ensure that no matter what seat you’re in, you won’t miss a single syllable of what’s happening on stage. For artists and technical teams, our space will be more accessible and equipped to cater to all scales of production on a level we haven’t been able to deliver before. From theatre and musicals to conferences, rock concerts and community events, this new system will deliver a fully-immersive, accessible, and memorable experience for production staff and audiences alike.”
The project has proved a huge success for the client and a validation of Rea Sound’s partnership with Martin Audio over many decades. “We’ve represented Martin Audio for 40-odd years, so we have a very close relationship,” concludes McMullan. “This project has been an excellent example and delivered a fantastic outcome for the client. The technical manager and sound engineers are delighted, visiting tour companies have given very positive feedback, and as a local company, Rea Sound has even heard audience members tell us how good the venue sounds.”
UK – The Chalke History Festival is the UK’s largest history festival, bringing together many of the world’s most prominent historians, speakers, living history actors, performers, and musicians. The 2026 edition took place in June, drawing 25,000 heritage enthusiasts to the Wiltshire countryside to engage with more than 175 talks, debates, dynamic living history encampments, and live music entertainment. For a festival focusing deeply on the past, event production specialist Hire Frequencies deployed thoroughly modern Martin Audio sound reinforcement solutions across all five stages on the 70-acre site.
“It’s a fantastic festival,” says Will Smith, Founder and MD of Hire Frequencies. “The stages all feature panel discussions and presentations, so we provided a full AV solution including staging, lighting, LED walls, video – we filmed the entire event – and obviously the audio performance was incredibly important.”
As a new technical supplier to the festival, Hire Frequencies was tasked with substantially enhancing the audio performance and coverage compared to the festival organisers’ experiences in previous years. To achieve this, the team turned to the Martin Audio portfolio, where they found solutions for every stage on the site.
“There was a Martin Audio product suitable to cover every audio requirement of the festival,” comments Smith. “The range covers all bases, so there was no need to look anywhere else.”
THE MARTIN AUDIO KIT JUST PERFORMS.
The two main venues in terms of presentations were known as the Guildhall and the Moot.
In both locations, main left and right arrays comprised Martin Audio TORUS T1215 constant curvature enclosures combined with SXC115 subwoofers. Three pairs of Martin Audio FlexPoint Series FP8 8” point-source loudspeakers acted as delays flown overhead, with front fill provided by FP6 6” cabinets. The entire system was powered by multi-channel Martin Audio iKON amplifiers.
“We did the usual DISPLAY programming beforehand to make sure that the coverage was perfect,” notes Smith.
A third venue, known as the Forum, doubled as a presentation space by day and a music venue for evening entertainment. Here, Hire Frequencies deployed Martin Audio’s WPS Wavefront Precision line arrays, ground-stacked five cabinets per side and supplemented by high-output SXCF118 subwoofers on each side. Once again, FlexPoint FP8s were installed as delays, with ultra-compact FP6s acting as front fills.
“Due to the configuration of the site, when the live music started in the Forum we needed to actively control spill into the other presentation venues, particularly the Moot,” explains Smith. “The cardioid subwoofers and Martin Audio’s Hard Avoid optimisation feature really came into their own in this regard.”
Two smaller stages were also equipped with dedicated Martin Audio solutions. The Henge – an open-sided tent – utilised CDD-LIVE 12 and CDD-LIVE 8 coaxial active systems, while an outdoor performance stage featured FlexPoint FP12 12” point-source models combined with a pair of SXP118 subwoofers.
“We’ve had really positive feedback across the board,” Smith concludes. “Speech intelligibility was pristine and a massive improvement on last year. We’ve had nothing but fantastic comments from both the organisers and the audiences. The Martin Audio kit just performs.”
Photo Credit: Martin Cook
Thanks to
Integration/Installation Partner: Hire Frequencies
VNM – Noa by Hybrid Dining Club in Nha Trang, Vietnam, has deployed a Martin Audio sound system designed by local systems integrator B-Star to support both fine dining and nightclub operation from a single integrated audio platform.
Located in one of Vietnam’s leading coastal tourism destinations, the venue transitions from a restaurant during the day to a DJ-led nightlife destination in the evening, requiring an audio system capable of automatically adapting to two distinct operating modes.
Rather than installing separate systems, B-Star designed a networked solution that allows the venue to switch between background music and high-energy club sound while maintaining consistent audio quality and simple operation for staff.
The indoor system comprises 16 Martin Audio Q10 units, two Q12 and two Q15 loudspeakers, supported by eight Q118 subwoofers. The outdoor restaurant area is equipped with four Q12, two Q15 loudspeakers and two Q118 subwoofers to provide coverage across the open-air dining space.
The loudspeaker system is powered by five iKON iK41-Dante and three iKON iK42-Dante amplifiers, providing Dante networking and centralised system management. System processing is handled by an NST Audio D48X DSP processor alongside a Martin Audio DX0.6 system controller for loudspeaker optimisation and protection.
For mixing duties, the installation includes an Allen & Heath SQ-5 digital mixing console for live performances and DJ events, alongside an Allen & Heath QU-5 console for day-to-day venue operation.
“The client’s primary requirement was to create a sound system capable of supporting two completely different operational scenarios while remaining extremely simple for the venue staff to use,” explained Ita Pham, CEO and lead system engineer at B-Star.
Before 9:00pm, the indoor and outdoor loudspeaker systems operate as one unified system, delivering background music throughout the restaurant. Then, after 9:00pm, the entire system changes into two completely independent zones.
“The objective was to create an enjoyable atmosphere earlier on in the evening while allowing guests to dine and converse naturally,” noted Pham. “Then in the evening, the outdoor restaurant continues operating with pleasant background music at moderate levels, while the indoor area transforms into a full-scale nightclub featuring live DJ performances and significantly higher sound pressure levels.”
Pham said that the engineering objective was to not only achieve operational flexibility, but also to ensure that the audio quality remained high in every operating mode. “Even when the nightclub is running at high output levels with DJs performing, the system continues to deliver outstanding clarity, powerful low-frequency performance and uniform coverage throughout the venue,” he stated. “Once the installation and system tuning were completed, the client was extremely satisfied with both the operational flexibility and the overall sound quality delivered by the Martin Audio system.”
According to B-Star, achieving the dual-mode operation required extensive loudspeaker zoning, customised DSP presets and an intelligent control strategy to enable seamless transitions between restaurant and nightclub operation while maintaining a consistent user workflow.
Photography: Daniel Dobrovszki, Armin Speil, Oliver Toth, MateLeblanc
IND – Ashoka University’s Banjaara 7.0 transformed its Sonipat campus into a lively destination for music and cultural celebrations, welcoming students and visitors for one of the university’s most anticipated annual events. The evening’s headline performance by Nikhil D’Souza, supported by OX7GEN and an accomplished lineup of musicians including Aditya Ashok, Zohran Miranda, Beven Fonseca and Nathan Thomas, created an atmosphere that demanded concert-quality sound. Hosted at the university’s open-air Frisbee Field and supported by realme to promote the realme 16 5G, the event required an audio system capable of delivering high intelligibility, powerful dynamics and reliable performance across a large outdoor audience area.
The Front of House audio system was built around Martin Audio WPL line arrays with SXH218 Hybrid Horn/Reflex subwoofers, all driven by Martin Audio iKON iK42 power amplifiers. The system delivered exceptional vocal definition, balanced tonal response and impactful low frequencies while maintaining even coverage throughout the venue, ensuring every member of the audience experienced the concert with remarkable clarity and impact.
Photography: Daniel Dobrovszki, Armin Speil, Oliver Toth, MateLeblanc
UK – Performing to a capacity crowd at the seafront Hove Lawns location in Brighton, an artist line-up including Groove Armada, Jocelyn Brown, and DJ Todd Terry headlined the Glorious Day festival. Delivering high-quality sound reinforcement alongside optimised noise control in a sensitive residential environment was a Martin Audio WPC system, deployed by dBS Solutions.
The scalable system comprised 10 x Martin Audio WPC array elements per side as the main hangs. Providing significant low-end performance was a castellated array of 10x Martin Audio SX118 subwoofers, configured in a cardioid set-up.
“Hove Lawns on the seafront is a very long, thin area with the beach to the audience’s left and rows of flats and shops along the road to the right,” describes Chris Bogg of dBS Solutions. “The nearest residence is in line with one side of the stage, at a distance of only 60m. Fortunately, the Martin Audio broadside cardioid subwoofer array is fantastic at being able to control noise off to the sides, and we were able to use Hard Avoid features within the software to dramatically reduce noise behind the main array.”
MARTIN AUDIO DELIVERED A FANTASTIC RESULT FOR US AND THE CLIENT, NOT TO MENTION THE FESTIVAL’S NEIGHBOURS!
A greater challenge for the team was a residential and commercial area situated on one side just beyond the far reaches of the 80m-long site, requiring careful placement of the delay systems. “We had two MLAC delay systems along that left-hand side happily firing almost across the audience and out towards the sea,” Chris continues. “The city-facing delay was angled in more than you ordinarily would, specifically to keep those high frequencies from spilling beyond the boundary of the site.”
Across the event, dBS Solutions utilised Martin Audio’s DISPLAY optimisation software to create multiple levels of coverage predictions. By experimenting with different optimisations and collaborating closely with the local noise control team, they delivered a perfect balance of on-site impact within the stringent off-site noise limitations.
Chris praises the performance and accuracy of these Martin Audio processes: “Our journey has always been towards being able to do our biggest work, which is the festival work, and to be able to optimise the systems – and I think Martin Audio do that better than most. They are the originators of that process, level of control, and scalability.”
The scalable nature of the Wavefront Precision platform has proved invaluable to the rental company. “One of the major things for us when comparing Martin Audio against other products on the market was the scalable resolution,” notes Chris. “As a rental company, I can own lots of amplifier racks; one day I can deploy them in a one-box resolution for a premium audio system, and the next event, if we don’t have off-site noise problems, I can deploy it in a two-box resolution and use those amplifiers on another site.”
At Glorious Days, the system performed exactly as expected, with Chris concluding, “Once again, Martin Audio delivered a fantastic result for us and the client, not to mention the festival’s neighbours!”
UK – Goodlife Festival at Harewood House in Leeds built on the sell-out success of its inaugural event last year, returning on Saturday 6 June with an increased capacity to welcome up to 10,000 festival-goers. With a stellar main stage line-up including Armand Van Helden, Groove Armada, Alison Limerick, Roger Sanchez, and Inner City, event production specialist dBS Solutions provided a sound system to match the expanded festival scale with the deployment of a flagship Martin Audio WPL line array system.
Initially slated for a WPC system, the rapid growth in ticket sales prompted dBS Solutions to upgrade the system design. dBS Solutions Director, Chris Bogg, explains: “We won the tender on WPC, but when ticket sales for Leeds started rising and the capacity increased, we re-examined the site. Martin Audio’s DISPLAY software was a fantastic tool because it allowed me to show the client, ‘Look, you’ve opened up this audience area. If you want it to sound consistent, we’re going to need a delay tower, and we might need to look at making the main hang WPL instead of WPC.’ It was an incredibly helpful tool for guiding them through those choices.”
With an audience area approaching 100 metres, the final system comprised front hangs of 10 x Martin Audio WPL array elements per side, paired with a castle-wall cardioid sub-array of 14 x SXH218 subs. To ensure seamless coverage to the back of the site, a single delay tower of 6 x Martin Audio WPC array elements was deployed, including a cardioid-configured stack of 3 x SXH subs. Ground-stacked Martin Audio TORUST1230 outfills covered the sides, while Martin Audio FP12s sat on top of the castle-wall sub-array as front-fills.
THE SCALABILITY OF THE SYSTEM IS BRILLIANT AND IT ALWAYS SOUNDS AMAZING.
On stage, a high-performance monitoring package featured Martin Audio XE300 wedges, with DJ-fills consisting of two SXC subs with an FP15 FlexPoint Series cabinet on each side of the performer.
“We got great coverage from the system and plenty of sub,” confirms Chris, and praises the accuracy of Martin Audio’s DISPLAY software in designing and optimising the system: “What we really like about the Martin Audio software is that it is super accurate. What you are looking at on screen is genuinely what you get on-site.”
Managing noise limits across the site required close cooperation, with Chris describing a highly collaborative approach between artists, engineers, and the on-site noise management team throughout the event. “The noise management team would come back and forth to check on other tents, and if we were approaching the limit, we’d back it down a decibel or two. We would check in before the headliners went on to see what headroom we had left before hitting any off-site noise. While we didn’t have a lot left to give in terms of off-site noise limits, there was tons of headroom in the PA itself. Giving them that extra decibel or two really livened it up and they were very pleased with the sound of the system.”
This year dBS Solutions is celebrating its 20th anniversary in business. Asked about his highlights, Bogg is quick to respond: “The people we get to work with make this a really nice way to make a living – the many incredible artists over the years, and the freelancers, contractors, and site teams we get to collaborate with. We are entirely about our team and working collaboratively with others.”
That collaborative approach extends directly to the company’s long-standing partnership with Martin Audio. “Our journey with Martin Audio has progressed from smaller boxes like WPM and WPS to WPC and WPL, allowing us to scale up to these large-scale festivals,” Chris explains. “What really sealed it for us when we bought our first optimisable array was the scalable resolution. With Martin, you can step toward it. As a rental company, that means I can own a pool of amplifiers and deploy them at one-box resolution on a high-stakes gig where we need absolute off-site noise control, or run them at two-box resolution for a standard gig and use the remaining amplifier channels to run a second system on another site. The scalability of the system is brilliant and it always sounds amazing.”
USA – Set against the scenic backdrop of the Berkshire Hills in Becket, Massachusetts, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival is America’s longest-running international dance festival. Founded in 1931 by modern dance pioneer Ted Shawn on a historic 220-acre farm, this National Historic Landmark District welcomes thousands of global visitors each summer. To support its diverse, world-class lineup of international choreographers and artists, the Festival’s Ted Shawn Theatre – originally opened in 1942 as the first performance space in the US designed exclusively for dance – has been equipped with a complete, state-of-the-art Martin Audio sound system.
Designed around Martin Audio’s Wavefront Precision WPM Series line arrays, the system was specified and supplied by New Jersey-based Audio Inc.
“This is the first year we’ve taken on full production in the venue,” begins Stephan Wojtecki, Head of Audio at Audio Inc. “When Edward Tolve, our Operations Manager, and I did the walkthrough, as soon as we walked into the room, we knew: WPM, 100% WPM.”
Audio Inc.’s introduction to the Martin Audio Wavefront Precision line originally began with an installation project. “We had an installation at the time in a high school auditorium. We realized WPM was an incredibly good-sounding product. After that job I immediately knew we had to do more with it.”
Subsequently, the company approached their local Martin Audio representative when they needed a versatile, scalable setup for rental applications. “I approached Martha Callaghan when we were looking to invest in a small-format PA that could scale from small-to-mid-size rental events. After talking with Martha, we looked closer at WPM, which also led to a conversation about WPS, and we made a major purchase of both a couple of years ago.”
Fast-forward to this summer’s Ted Shawn Theatre deployment, where the team performed a complete system redesign, modelling the space top-to-bottom using Martin Audio’s DISPLAY software.
WE’VE BUILT OUR MARTIN AUDIO INVENTORY TO THE POINT WHERE WE HAVE ALMOST THE FULL LINE NOW…
The ultimately specified system comprises six WPM cabinets per side, supplemented with a flown SXC115 cardioid subwoofer in each array. To address a challenging rear mezzanine – where the front-of-house audio mix position is also located – Audio Inc. deployed a pair of Martin Audio TORUST820 constant curvature arrays as delay positions, while ultra-compact FlexPointFP6 cabinets serve as front infills. The entire system is powered by six Martin Audio iKON multi-channel amplifiers running over a Dante network.
“The system sounds so warm and musical, even at a distance,” describes Wojtecki. “That’s often the general description I get when people hear Wavefront Precision or most Martin Audio boxes for the first time. The venue has a clean-sounding, perfectly tailored array that – importantly for dance – is so discreet people hardly notice it is there.”
Christopher Marc, Jacob’s Pillow Audio Supervisor, adds: “People are appreciating the upgrades in clarity and tone without it being overbearing. Our rigs in the past have relied on volume for ‘clarity’, thus eliminating any real dynamics in the room. This system has allowed us a huge improvement in clarity at any level.”
With their system design, Audio Inc. has also been able to solve long-standing coverage issues. “The top of the steeply-raked rear mezzanine is where they had the biggest coverage problems,” Wojtecki explains. “The TORUS T820s filled in very nicely in the software. When we did our final tuning, we watched the Smaart traces as we blended in the delays and they filled in the gaps perfectly. It was very rewarding. They are voiced so well with the WPM that the transition is totally seamless, and overall we have it down to a 3dB variation from front to back.”
The stage monitoring package is designed to fulfil the high-energy demands of the performers. Audio Inc. specified four Martin Audio CDD-LIVE 8 coaxial differential dispersion speakers per side, paired with compact SX212 subwoofers, alongside Martin Audio XE500 floor wedges when “throw-and-go” capabilities are required.
“Everything blends together nicely and creates a highly uniform sound field across both the audience and the stage,” Wojtecki confirms. “The rear-rejection of the WPM array is incredibly helpful for a proper dance monitor setup. Because of that rejection, it feels like you have two separate systems: one for the stage and one for the audience, working together to create a linear field. That was one of the biggest appeals to them – having proper coverage on stage that sounds voiced identically to what the audience hears out front.”
Wojtecki describes the effortless tuning process: “All I had to do was time-align everything and apply a tiny bit of corrective EQ on the delays and front fills. If you measure the room correctly and input the exact data into the DISPLAY software, the results just work – especially in single-box resolution. Nine times out of ten, you don’t have to touch it.”
While the system design setup primarily stays consistent throughout the Festival, the WPM’s flexibility allows the team to adapt to specific rider demands. “The Akram Khan Company have a specific ‘mountain’ scenic element on stage from which the sound needs to be localised,” explains Wojtecki. “We added an additional centre WPM array and delayed the entire PA back to that spot. We also supplemented the low-end with two additional SX118 subwoofers on each side for the immense soundtrack of the production.”
“As Jacob’s Pillow grows as an organisation to facilitate and support all kinds of dance, this investment signifies a huge lift in support for that mission, and the idea that live sound and design is a significant part of dance,” notes Marc, adding, “Audio Inc. has taken the time to truly invest in what we are trying to do. They have provided a huge support system to us by listening to our needs, responding to them, and making the appropriate recommendations.”
Hands-on with the system, engineer Mads Hamilton is also effusive in their praise: “I could not be happier with the system and the team that has worked alongside us to install it. All interactions I have had with Audio Inc. have prioritised the operation of our systems to their fullest capacity and the quality of audio for Jacob’s Pillow patrons. Stephan’s patience, kindness, and availability to our team has made my job as the engineer exponentially easier. I am looking forward to the remaining weeks of the Festival getting to play with this stunning system.”
The final words come from Stephan Wojtecki: “We’ve built our Martin Audio inventory to the point where we have almost the full line now: CDD, FlexPoint, TORUS, and Wavefront Precision. Our clients love the sound quality, the business just keeps growing, and Jacob’s Pillow is a true demonstration of this. It has been an incredibly rewarding experience to see the system and our team deliver so successfully for this world-renowned event.”
Photography: Photos Hannah Murphy; courtesy of Jacob’s Pillow.
