Audio for Carey Grammar’s theatre has been languishing for decades with poor coverage of a long/narrow room with an extended balcony section. That’s now fixed.
Carey Grammar takes its performing arts seriously. Tim Schwerdt, Theatre Production Coordinator at Carey Grammar, has a formidable CV and is accustomed to directing theatre and musicals in top-tier locations such as Hamer Hall, QPAC the Sydney Opera House. School musicals at Carey Grammar are only for the fully committed.
If passion and expertise weren’t issues, the performance of the school hall definitely was. The 1000-seater Memorial Great Hall has been modified and patched over decades but previous audio designs and visiting rental companies struggled to adequately cover the unusual layout of the theatre.
THE CHALLENGE
The theatre is long and narrow. Most of the seating is in the raked balcony area. In fact, the under balcony area isn’t used during school musical productions. As with just about every school hall it’s a multi-purpose venue that hosts everything from school assemblies to full-scale musicals. The challenge was clear: maintain audio clarity in a challenging space while making the system user-friendly for both school staff and visiting production teams.
Tim Schwerdt explains the situation before the upgrade: “Before this system was installed, we would hire an audio company for major productions. The in-house system was largely ignored because it didn’t deliver the required performance. Upstairs had always been a problem. Audience members would regularly comment that the sound wasn’t great up there, but there was little we could do. Since installing the new system, those complaints have disappeared, and the results have exceeded expectations.”
THE FIX
Factory Sound was engaged to design an audio upgrade. A key design decision was to opt for d&b Y-Series point source loudspeakers instead of a line array. Sure, line arrays are common in theatre spaces, but this is a particularly narrow venue plus it has a glass balcony front – a no-go audio zone. Jono Sinclair, Projects Department Manager at Factory Sound, explains:
“The technical consultant was against using a line array, and we agreed. The glass balcony was a key factor — it would have caused significant reflection issues. Additionally, the room’s geometry isn’t well suited to traditional line array – it’s quite narrow and long. Instead, we designed an LCR system with two lines of delay speakers (a pair of d&b Y-Series loudspeakers followed by a line of compact 44S loudspeakers addressing the top eight rows of seating in the balcony) to ensure even coverage across all seating areas.”
The system includes a pair of d&b Y10P point-source speakers in a vertical splay for left and right coverage. Another Y10P in the centre acts as an image fill rather than a traditional centre cluster. A pair of flown d&b V-Subs provide low-frequency reinforcement, with their cardioid design naturally rejecting sound to the rear, reducing stage spill without requiring additional backward-facing subs.
THE RESULT
The transformation has been profound. Tim notes: “From a production standpoint, the system is now on par with industry-standard venues. When external engineers come in, they immediately recognise the d&b setup and feel comfortable working with it.”
For Carey Grammar, the upgrade means no more scrambling to fix audio issues before an event. The balance between flexibility for productions and reliability for school operations has been perfectly struck, making this project a textbook example of how a well-designed audio system can serve multiple purposes without compromise.
