For the third year in a row, Event Wave Productions provided audio systems and support for the Wall Street Journal’s All Things Digital conference, produced by The Trillium Creations and held in the Grand Ballroom at the Terranea resort in Rancho Palos Verdes. Building on previous years’ successes, this year’s system incorporated a Yamaha CL5 console operated by Chris Gauvin, with dual Rio-3224D stage boxes for a redundant Dante audio network.
Following the conference’s Digital theme, this year’s sound system featured the most pristine digital audio signal path yet. Key input sources, such as the 360 Systems Instant Replay, connected digitally to the CL5 via a Yamaha MY8AE96 input card. The main PA was digitally connected from the Rio-3224D’s AES outputs.
Because of the unscripted, conversational nature of the conference, automixing facilities are key to making sure every word is heard. The CL5’s integrated iPad mount allowed Gauvin immediate touch control and metering for the Dugan-MY16 automixer card.
With a uniquely intimate tiered seating layout, consistent PA coverage is essential. Event Wave deployed a PA system primarily consisting of two 8-box hangs of Vertec VT4886 subcompact line array elements. The line arrays delivered extremely high-fidelity audio from the first row to the last, while staying outside of scenic, video, and lighting sight lines. JBL VRX932, VRX928, and EAW JF50 fill speakers supplemented the line arrays to ensure every seat received crystal clear audio. Lab Gruppen amplifiers powered all zones.
“It made for a fast install and EQ/balancing of the system”
Gauvin noted that “often in corporate we are forced to use fewer line array boxes than we really should. For this show, we had a very narrow hang window between the ceiling and the top of scenic elements, less than 6 feet. We were able to fit in 8 boxes per array and it was perfect for the coverage that we needed from the floor seats to the upper seats in the grandstand, about an 85′ throw distance. There was no need for front fills or delays, it made for a fast install and EQ/balancing of the system, plus the overall control with that many boxes is great – especially with people on stage talking at low volume through lavalier elements.”