Yarra Valley Grammar School, in Melbourne, Australia, chose a d&b audiotechnik system to meet the needs of their performing arts centre. The school wanted a system that would cater to a diverse range of events, from lectures to classical music concerts to full-scale musical productions. The d&b A-Series was found to be the perfect fit for any occasion, able to achieve comprehensive coverage and tonal uniformity throughout the 900 seat George Wood Performing Arts Centre.
The project was specified and installed by Melbourne-based AV technical production and design company DCAP Venue Systems.
“The school had waited a long time to upgrade their existing system. They wanted to achieve high standards of coverage, uniformity and suitable SPL for the program material,” said David Cuthbertson, Director of DCAP. “To meet their goals, we proposed a fully ArrayProcessed A-Series, which they were very excited about.”
The d&b A-Series augmented array loudspeakers are specifically designed for medium-scale applications where coverage flexibility is a necessity. Paired with 30D and 10D d&b amplifiers and Bi6 subwoofers the Yarra Valley d&b system solution was carefully selected and configured to the meet specific needs of the multipurpose space.
As a Venue Manager that began as an audio tech, I’d never heard a d&b system I didn’t want. So, when DCAP suggested the ‘fit’ of the new A-Series to the unique needs of our space, I was intrigued. The voicing and flexibility of the A-Series, together with the design and installation of the amazing DCAP team, has given us a result that is simply lovely to listen to.
In order to achieve the best set up for the venue, ensuring optimal sound and clear sightlines for the whole audience, the positioning of the main arrays was crucial. The DCAP team designed and installed custom steelwork to support new PA rigging points and allow the compact A-Series cabinets to be positioned perfectly.
“Right off the bat after installation, the A-Series provided superb coverage and tonal uniformity from the main hangs alone, which was complemented with a smattering of d&b loudspeakers throughout the performing arts centre,” said Cuthbertson. “The fact that the system is so compact is fantastic. When people walk into the room they are so used to seeing a J-Shaped line array, but it only takes them a moment of listening to the PA to realise that the A-Series is a serious audio tool for this type of deployment.”
Photos: David Cuthbertson
