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"I can't imagine doing a job of this complexity without the self-powered loudspeakers... With no amp racks to deal with, we ran very short audio lines to the Meyer loudspeakers, nearly all of which we could control individually. It was a straightforward, elegant solution."
- Steve Sockey,
Sound Designer
SIA Acoustics
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Staging a fundraising ball inside the I.M. Pei-designed atrium of New York's Mount Sinai Medical Center involves several challenges, not the least of which is presenting amplified music and speech inside a structure which – though visually imposing – could be considered an acoustical chamber of horrors. To tame the soaring glass-and-concrete vault, Steve Sockey of New York's SIA Acoustics crafted a solution using 624 absorbent panels for acoustical control and 100 Meyer Sound self-powered loudspeaker cabinets for precise coverage. The combination proved extraordinarily successful: Mount Sinai's 2004 Crystal Ball was hailed as the best sounding by far in the event's 19-year history. "Acoustical treatment and tight pattern control were both critical factors here," says sound designer Sockey, who also served as the event's technical director. "After all, it's a social gathering where people want to mingle and talk with each other, so you can't simply flood the whole room with loud dance music." According to Mount Sinai's director of special events, Eileen Solomon, SIA's extra efforts were warmly received by the 1,400 guests who contributed a combined $3.2 million to the renowned institution. "The positive feedback has been extraordinary," she reports. "People were able to carry on conversations over dinner, but then have the music just the way they wanted when out on the dance floor, where it sounded as good as the hottest clubs in town." To boost this year's sound to a higher level, Sockey first worked with the event's artistic designer to construct nine "clouds" of red and white acoustical panels that were flown on trusses around the cavernous Cummings Atrium. Carefully placed, this treatment reduced the overall room's broadband reverberation time from over 3.5 seconds to a manageable 1.5 seconds. To keep the amplified sounds under pinpoint control, Sockey specified two separate systems of Meyer Sound self-powered loudspeakers: a primary voice/music system, and a dedicated dance system. The primary system covered the entire event area, which was expanded beyond the atrium into the adjoining Annenberg Lobby to accommodate increased attendance. This system carried a few short VIP addresses as well as the background music for dining (supplied by a troupe of strolling string players equipped with Shure wireless beltpacks and DPA clip-on instrument microphones). Covering the expansive atrium with sound was further complicated by the necessity of keeping loudspeakers above the trim height of the decorative treatments, thus requiring far more positions than otherwise would be specified for the given floor space. After long hours of assembling this "acoustical jigsaw puzzle," Sockey devised a main room system comprising 32 M1D ultra-compact curvilinear array loudspeakers (in arrays of four to seven elements each) and 32 UPJ-1P compact VariO loudspeakers flown in splayed pairs. The adjoining lobby area was covered by two more UPJ-1Ps and eight UPM-1P ultra-compact wide coverage loudspeakers. Four MM-4 miniature wide range loudspeakers provided fill for seating immediately in front of the podiums, which were placed on a stairway landing. "We spent a lot of time with (Meyer Sound) MAPP Online when putting this all together," says Sockey. "MAPP was a great tool for determining how the elements in each M1D array would perform. We looked not only at on-axis response, but also what was happening off axis in both the horizontal and vertical planes. We also used the architectural tool in MAPP to see where acoustical panels were needed to absorb the most off-axis sound energy." To contain the louder music on the dance floor, Sockey found a novel application for the narrow "wedge" of mid-high frequency sound produced in the vertical axis by an M2D compact curvilinear array loudspeaker. Using an SIA-designed custom rigging frame, each M2D was paired with an M2D-Sub compact subwoofer, with eight of the pairs rigged inside acoustically absorbent cubes and facing directly down on the long, narrow dance floor. These eight elements were flown with precise spacing and then carefully calibrated to create a seamless, tightly defined strip of dance music that dropped off sharply before hitting the adjoining tables. "I can't imagine doing a job of this complexity without the self-powered loudspeakers," confesses Sockey. "We used 11 Soundwebs on this job, we flew them up in the trusses on custom frames, and then simply ran Cat-5 cable around to the network of Soundwebs. With no amp racks to deal with, we ran very short audio lines to the Meyer loudspeakers, nearly all of which we could control individually. It was a straightforward, elegant solution." The Meyer Sound loudspeakers were supplied by Scharff-Weisberg of New York, with logistical coordination by Scharff's Scott Schachter. At the FOH mix position, a Yamaha DM2000 digital console took the feeds from the Schoeps podium mics, the strolling musicians, and Tom Finn's outboard DJ mix system. Finn, whose dance mixes are a staple at premier society gatherings, had entertained previous Crystal Balls, but says he found this latest the most gratifying. "The people from SIA have really overcome the problems of doing music in these places, which can be absolute hell acoustically. They did an amazing job with the panels this year, and also with the Meyer speakers. The setup they had sounded clear, smooth and warm – overall it was superb." For SIA founder and president Sam Berkow, the Crystal Ball showcases the company's continuing expansion into the field of technical management of acoustically challenging special events. "The depth of experience we have in concert hall and recording studio design, and in sound system design, makes our services a natural fit for events where sound is critical," he explains. "We apply the same skills in architectural drawings, structural engineering, rigging, documentation and coordination. The difference is that, with most of these events, we condense much of what we would do over the course of many months into just a few weeks." For her part, the medical center's Eileen Solomon regards this year as a standard-setter for future Crystal Balls. "This is an I.M. Pei space, so looks do count," she acknowledges. "But we were determined to create a visually appealing space with controlled sound. It's an intangible that people really do sense, and sometimes you notice the effect by how late people stay. People stayed later this year, which is a strong positive comment on the quality of the sound."
July, 2004
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FEATURED PRODUCTS
M2D M2D-Sub M1D UPJ-1P UPM-1P MM-4 MAPP Online
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