Category: Martin Audio

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.”

UK: Situated in London’s East End, Victoria Park has been a popular festival venue for many years—but it has also traditionally been one riddled with challenges for incoming sound reinforcement teams.

One person who has worked there many times is Solotech Senior Account Manager, Martin Connolly. He has generally specified Martin Audio’s MLA multicellular array for its unique control ability, keeping the sound firmly focused onsite, with minimum bleed into the neighbourhood.

In recent years Victoria Park has played host to the popular All Points East [APE], promoted by AEG Live, which runs over two weekends. Here Solotech team up with LS Events and production manager, Mark Ward (Proper Productions) whom they also work with at British Summertime, Hyde Park.

However, it has become increasingly difficult for production teams to achieve the required SPL in front of stage, sending all parties back to the drawing board for a ‘root and branch’ reappraisal.

This year LS Events responded by demarcating the East Stage listening area—effectively the sound field—with flags, inside which their aim was to deliver a uniform sound, evenly distributed between 98db(A)-100dB(A) LaEQ15 at FOH, and no more than 75dB(A) LaEQ15 offsite at the nearest measurement point. They recognised that for a bill heavily tilted towards indie and electronic (ranging from Kaytranda to LCD Soundsystem) it needed to remain consistently ‘banging’—all the way to the delay points, set some 150 metres back.

Thus Solotech’s Robin Conway set about revising the existing PA design to meet that challenge.

With six main hangs on East Stage, he upgraded the infill drops from MLA Compact to full MLA (eight MLA plus an MLD Downfill), and had them flown rather than groundstacked. The main hangs again comprised 13 MLA and an MLD Downfill, and outfills six MLA (and an MLD) flown. Subwoofers consisted of 20 MLX in a broadside cardioid array, arced across the front (with seven of these rear facing), while eight Martin Audio XD12 provided the nearfills. The outer hangs, in particular, had been required to bolster the sound on house right.

But arguably the bigger achievement was to introduce Martin Audio’s flagship WPL into three of the five delay positions (in respective blocks of 8, 10 and 8 elements) which had previously been occupied by MLA Compact. Spanning the other two rear field delays Solotech deployed 20 MLA Compact (10-a-side), bolstered with three MLX subwoofers on each tower. Reasoned Martin Connolly, “Because WPL is physically a bigger box than the MLA-C, giving us a longer hang, it afforded us greater controllability on the low end.”

As consultant and former Martin Audio Engineering Director Jason Baird put it, “The DISPLAY optimisations for these arrays were configured with an SPL profile of +2 at the front and 0dB (c/w FOH) at the coverage stop position. This was to maintain the same SPL level as at FOH, right up to the handover to delay ring 1. The tighter horizontal dispersion of WPL, and improved low mid pattern control of the larger product, were hugely beneficial. The delays yielded incredibly consistent sound levels, not only front to back but side to side too. It almost goes without saying that the DISPLAY files made full use of the Hard Avoid feature too.”

For the headliners Solotech ran uniformly at 99dBA on Friday, 100dBA on Saturday and 98dBA Sunday, while working within offsite levels. To verify the onsite measurements, and establish proof of concept, AEG had introduced audio consultants, Electric Star.

How would this impact offsite? As a precaution Solotech had drafted in Jason Baird to act as audio coordinator between East Stage system tech Joseph Pierce and the event’s regular acoustic consultants Vanguardia, who were responsible for monitoring offsite sound.

The most sensitive (and nearest) of the measurement points was Waterside (75m to house right of stage). “With a normal PA side hang at 45° to the main PA it’s going right down the throat of that measurement microphone,” notes Connolly. “Jason would look at the data and for example decide to pull one frequency down by 2dB, or notch out sub frequencies on an act-by act basis, to stay within the off limits rather than turn the whole thing down by 6dB in a knee jerk reaction.” With some judicious tilting and tweaks they were able to overcome this.

Solotech UK equipped two further stages with Martin Audio, implementing the same designs as last year. On West Stage, where Josh Bruty was system tech, they fielded main hangs: of 12 x WPL, side hangs of12 x WPC; front fills of 8 x WPS and subs comprising 11 x SXHF218. There were two delay positions, each with six WPC.

Finally they equipped L’Oreal Stage (rebranded last year from BMW Stage) with 10 x WPS; 4 x DD12 and 4 x SX218 subs.

This overall solution provided all concerned with a feeling of ‘mission accomplished’ as consistent sound levels were maintained. “We achieved great results and have had nothing but positive feedback from production,” declared Martin Connolly. He said he hoped this universal approbation would finally allay misguided concerns about insufficient levels. “Now we’ve increased by 1-2dB that argument has been kicked firmly into touch. He added that there was no reason to consider changing the main PA system. “MLA may be well over a decade old, but it still really delivers.

“Victoria Park is more difficult to work than any other site we do, including Finsbury Park, and we are delighted to have pulled this off.”

And Jason Baird agreed. Stating that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to festival PA design he simply explained: “Any festival site is a balancing act and for APE we found that balancing point.”

Other key personnel on duty included (East Stage): Xavier d’Arifat (FOH engineer); Jonny Buck,Alastair Hellard (monitor engineers). West Stage: Will Hall (FOH engineer); Isabella Di Biase and Kieran Niemand (monitors). Finally, on L’Oreal Stage, Jason Barton was the sound engineer.

ALBANIA: Green Coast is a luxury tourist retreat located in the Albanian resort of Palasë. Known as the Albanian Riviera, and overlooking the Ionian Sea, it is also a popular recreational hub, with a number of bars and restaurants.

One of these is the latest SALT, run by experienced restaurateurs, Revo Hospitality Group (RHG) which specialises in Mediterranean cuisine, seafood and sushi. Described as ae “one-stop shop for food and beverage experiences, providing something for everyone from daytime, dining, nightlife and events” it recently turned to Martin Audio’s local distribution partner, Prosound for a sound system installation. This was after they had successfully carried out other work for the Group (including SALT restaurants, and Lift Steak & Rooftop Bar.

Having used the Prosound / Martin Audio combination successfully on previous installations RHG had no need to change a winning formula. Tasked with reinforcing a wide range of music sources—including DJs and live bands (when the venue reverts to a night time / club atmosphere)—Prosound’s Endrit Veleshnja recommended a CDD solution.

CDD is Martin Audio’s most popular range, particularly for this type of venue. Drawing on Coaxial Differential Dispersion technology (which gives CDD its name) the system is versatile and easy to install, with flexible mounting options.

Prosound divided the single-storey venue into five different sound zones, with three different sound sources that can be combined. They specified a combination of CDD15, CDD10, CDD8, CDD6, for use both inside and out on the terrace, powered by Martin Audio VIA amplifiers, with Martin Audio ADORN A55 infilling the peripheral areas.

In the main dance area these were complemented by several SX118 subwoofers, with SX112 and SX110 providing LF extension in the other zones, routed through a third-party processor.

Thus the operators can once again reflect on a successful installation that meets all requirements over a trading pattern that runs from lunchtime right through until 3am.

Martin Audio, a global leader in professional audio, is proud to announce the appointment of Simon Honywill as its new Market Development Manager for Live Sound, Production, and Immersive Audio Markets. With an extensive career spanning over two decades in sound engineering, Simon’s transition into this strategic role is set to propel Martin Audio into new markets while further solidifying its leadership in live sound and immersive audio technology.

Honywill’s appointment follows a long and successful association with Martin Audio. His contributions to sound engineering across major global events, particularly in the UK festival scene, have earned him a stellar reputation. “I’m utterly thrilled about this new role,” he said. “After years of working as a sound engineer, I’ve been looking for a way to bring my expertise to a broader market and make a bigger impact. This role with Martin Audio offers me exactly that opportunity. I’ve always admired the company’s innovation, and now I have the chance to be part of shaping its future.”

As Market Development Manager, Honywill will spearhead efforts to expand Martin Audio’s presence in the live sound and immersive audio markets. His new responsibilities will involve working globally, with a particular focus on Europe and the Middle East, fostering stronger relationships with both existing and prospective clients. His travels are set to begin with key industry events, including Pro Lab’s Open Day in Dubai and the LEaT.con trade fair in Hamburg.

Having been a vocal advocate for Martin Audio throughout his career, Honywill’s passion for high-quality sound has consistently aligned with the company’s commitment to audio excellence. “Martin Audio makes the best loudspeakers on the planet,” he confidently stated. “I’ve used every system under the sun over the years, and I keep returning to Martin Audio for its unmatched musicality and advanced technology. Our optimised systems are leagues ahead of the competition, and I’m excited to help the industry recognise that.”

I’m proud to be part of this new chapter.

In addition to his technical expertise, Honywill brings a deep understanding of the psychology of the industry, making him an ideal ambassador for Martin Audio. “Too often, people make decisions based on what others tell them, rather than experiencing products for themselves. I want to change that by encouraging more direct engagement with our systems, which I truly believe are the best on the market.”

One of the highlights of Honywill’s career is his long-standing involvement with theGlastonbury Festival. His deep connection with the event will continue in his new role, where he remains actively involved in sound design and implementation. “I’ll still be working with Glastonbury, particularly on Block 9, which could see some exciting changes in the near future,” he noted. “It’s a fantastic opportunity to integrate Martin Audio’s latest technologies into one of the world’s biggest festivals.”

Alongside his ongoing festival work, Honywill will continue to support major sound installations, helping Martin Audio maintain its dominance in the festival sound market. “I’ve spent years working on festival systems, including the Pyramid and West Holts stages at Glastonbury. These setups are already at the forefront of sound engineering, but I’m eager to push the boundaries even further, especially as new technologies become available.”

A key objective in his new role is to ensure Martin Audio’s products meet the highest standards of sound quality while addressing the practical needs of sound engineers and clients. “In the past, my feedback to R&D has been sporadic,” Honywill admitted. “Now, I’m looking forward to a more structured involvement in product development, taking new products into the field, testing them in real-world conditions, and providing invaluable feedback to the R&D team.”

Honywill’s industry insights and expertise will be instrumental in refining and enhancing Martin Audio’s product offerings. “I’ve always believed that the best audio products are those that emotionally connect with the audience. If I can help foster that emotional connection through superior sound quality, then I’ll know I’ve succeeded in this role.”

His appointment comes at a dynamic time for Martin Audio, as the company has made significant progress with the recent addition of other industry veterans to its leadership team. “There’s a lot of momentum within Martin Audio right now,” Honywill said. “With the product line-up being the strongest it’s ever been and people like Brad Berridge joining the team, it’s clear the company is heading in the right direction. I’m proud to be part of this new chapter.”

With his extensive experience, technical expertise, and dedication to sound quality, Simon Honywill is perfectly positioned to help Martin Audio expand its market share and deliver world-class audio systems for live and immersive experiences.

UK: Production company, RG Jones Sound Engineering, needed to pull out all the stops when RG Live and Merlin Entertainment staged a mixed programme of four back-to-back concerts within the beautiful mediaeval setting of Warwick Castle. It was the perfect ‘picnic on the lawn’ scenario, and an occasion which challenged their award-winning Martin Audio MLA loudspeaker array to the maximum.

Opening with ‘The Music of Hans Zimmer vs John Williams’—an epic showdown between the legendary film composers—the programme journeyed via Ministry of Sound Classical to McFly, before soaring further into the atmosphere with Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds as a finale. As a bonus for the audience, joining Gallagher were legendary Smiths’ guitarist Johnny Marr and The Waeve, featuring Blur’s Graham Coxon and ex-Pipette Rose Elinor Dougall.

All played out through Martin Audio’s flagship PA, which broke new ground when it was launched in 2010, and like a fine wine continues to get better with age. And for this type of event there are no more capable hands than RG Jones’ ‘Mr. Classical Spectacular’ maestro Simon Honywill, who has extensive experiencing of getting every last drop from the PA. He and Anthony Inglis, who conducted the London Concert Orchestra on the opening night concert, were reunited, having first worked together 33 years ago, while the lineage of RG Live can be traced back to Raymond Gubbay, for whom RG Jones (and Honywill in particular) have also enjoyed a working relationship extending over several decades. The same goes for their long association with production manager, Dick Tee.

Honywill co-managed the sound system design along with Martin Audio’s product support engineer, Ben Tucker (who doubled asde factosystem tech). The main PA comprised 16 MLA elements on each hang, underpinned with 24 MLX subwoofers, which were reconfigurable. The subs themselves started off in a broadside cardioid array but reverted to a staggered end fire configuration, since Noel Gallagher didn’t want subs placed in front of the stage. “But this also meant it was actually quieter on stage,” noted Honywill.

Everything was spot on.

The site itself was very long and narrow—260 metres from front to back, with a significant rise. To compensate for this and ensure system optimisation, the main hangs were complemented with eight L/R MLA Compact providing outfills, four further MLA Compact enclosures, stacked left and right, for infills, with a pair of TORUS T1230 as lipfills.

Delays were set at around 95-100 metres—slightly staggered and comprising two hangs of 12 Martin Audio WPL. These were boosted by another two hangs of staggered speakers, each comprising eight WPL.

This was the RG Jones’ team’s first visit to Warwick Castle. And although the venue is well accustomed to staging concerts, production levels have rarely been on this scale. RG Jones also had to be mindful that the Castle is situated right in the town centre. Therefore exacting offsite thresholds were set at 75dB(C) at one-minute Leq.

“These levels are generally unheard of, and we worried [the performances] were going to be quiet,” said Honywill. “But in actual fact it was absolutely fine.” This was due to careful tuning of the system and working some magic on the delays. We used the control technology to its full extent, particularly the ‘Hard Avoid’ [function] to make sure the system dropped off properly where it needed to. And that worked really well—in fact everyone was delighted.”

The other challenge facing RG Jones was that with diverse acts coming in each day, scheduling was tight, minimising the time they were actually able to run the system up. They were also needing to work around the Castle’s normal visitor attractions, with school trips and so on … “that whole mediaeval vibe, jousting and falconry, plague burials and witch hanging”, as Honywill puts it.

As with most concerts with a classical bent, the event culminated in a firework finale, which book-ended the spectacular in the time-honoured fashion.

In summary, Simon Honywill described the four-day event as a complete success. “I imagine we will see a lot more concerts featuring a mixed bag of artists in the future.

“Overall it was a great working environment in a really gorgeous setting. Everything was spot on … apart from the plague burials and witch hanging, of course.”

Photography by Sophie Hoult.

UK: When a formula is deemed to have reached perfection—as is now the case with the technical infrastructure at BST Hyde Park — never assume that it can’t be nuanced, or that an extra bit of power cannot be wrung out of the PA.

Martin Audio and Solotech UK (formerly as Capital Sound) have been permanent incumbents since AEG Presents took over the Hyde Park lease in 2013, and Martin Audio PAs feature site wide.

But this year Solotech were represented by a different system engineer in Rayne Ramsden. And while he was working to the same offsite sound level thresholds (75dBA) as set out by acoustic consultants Vanguardia, he was nevertheless able to squeeze out a couple of extra dB at FOH, giving them a potential of 101dB(A) without breaching offsite limits.

“Rather than simply cut and paste from last year I suggested tilting the delay PAs a degree or two to gain a bit more coverage and an extra 1-2dB out in the field—knowing I could use the ‘Hard Avoid’ [feature in the control software] to shave it off if necessary. Those extra degrees on the top angle gave us an extra 10 metres coverage.

As with last year, independent sound consultant (and former Martin Audio R&D director) Jason Baird was present at set up for the propagation tests on the main Great Oak Stage where the complement of speakers was identical to last year. Solotech UK fielded 19 MLA (plus a single MLD Downfill) on each wing, and a 15-box MLA hang (plus a single MLD Downfill) flanking outwards on each side.

There were 11 delay positions, populated by 35 x MLA and five MLD; 40 x WPL (in hangs of seven and eight); 12 x SXHF 218 subs and 16 x WPC (in two hangs of eight) set down the field.

“[Martin Audio’s] ‘Hard Avoid‘ control feature helped us drive the system hard without giving us problems off site.”

One important change this year was how the requirement for different stage thrusts on riders determined how the subwoofers could be configured.

As Rayne Ramsden explained, “Instead of being a full castellated array, where we would start with a double stack, we put two single [boxes] in the middle so that a thrust could be run over the top of the subs—and therefore didn’t have to remove any.

“We put a 400mm gap between the two central subs so that by the time you get to your first cardioid stack the distance between is 2.4m—so you can run a thrust through those speakers without having to change the cardioid every time.”

On top of that each thrust had its own unique design: Kylie Minogue’s was a simple run out, whereas Robbie Williams’ thrust included an extra 100mm on each side for lighting. “So for Robbie we put in a whole bunch of [Martin Audio] DD12 around the thrust that tied into the system,” explained Ramsden.

“Over the course of the three weekends there would have been at least eight different thrusts—including a ramped thrust over the two middle subs and another with steps that needed to beground bolted for the steps to stand on—and that also ran over the subs. We had to remove two of the centre subs for Kylie entirely, because she wanted to run underneath the thrust and come out at the end… but none of this changed the array [parameters] at all.”

Every visiting engineer that came through was “incredibly complimentary” about the PA, reports the system tech. “They gave resounding reviews about how impactful the PA was. Most are now familiar with MLA, but emphasised how really well it was sounding—which was remarkable for a PA that’s over 10 years old. Running at 96k, I couldn’t have been happier.”

Elsewhere, Solotech UK put the ‘Hard Avoid’ function in the proprietary DISPLAY2 software to good effect on the second (Rainbow) stage. As account manager David Preston explained, “We really needed to contain the audio this year because the British Airways sponsorship stand was positioned opposite the Rainbow stage, and midweek they had a couple of private events, involving a DJ and a function band. This meant we had to minimise the audio clash with the Rainbow stage; by bringing in Hard Avoid to 30 metres it meant we were no longer disturbing the BA stage 70 metres away.”

Another stage enhancement was at the popular Cuban Garage Stage where a pair of additional Martin Audio TORUS T1230 were added as outfills. Explaining the reason, Preston said, “We noticed last year that more people were standing round the sides because it’s quite an open area; and with the site opened up, a pair of additional TORUS on pole-mounts worked really nicely.”

Concluded production manager, Mark Ward (of Proper Productions), “Once again the team at Solotech made the very best of the system on Great Oak Stage—ringing every last bit of volume and musicality from the system with artists ranging from orchestras to rock bands.

“[Martin Audio’s] ‘Hard Avoid‘ control feature helped us drive the system hard without giving us problems off site.”

Watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/inP1uKy0Wv0

Photography by Jessica Gilbert.