Meyer Sound News : Meyer Sound Overwhelming at Nobel Peace Prize Concert

Meyer Sound Overwhelming at Nobel Peace Prize Concert

"Never before have we matched the sound we achieved with the M Series system at any previous peace prize concert."

- Sven Person,
Audio Director, Cruising Audio Concept

Meyer Sound's M Series line array loudspeaker range received perhaps its highest praise ever during the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize Concert, held in Oslo, Norway. Taking the stage after performances by Willie Nelson, Santana, Josh Groban, Angelique Kidjo and Michelle Branch, this year's laureate, former US president Jimmy Carter, declared himself to be "overwhelmed by the sound system."

This was fantastic news for Oslo-based PA company AVAB CAC, who supplied the sound for the event. AVAB CAC had recently invested in a considerable inventory of M and Concert Series loudspeakers including 18 M3D Line Array loudspeakers, 24 M2D Compact Curvilinear Array loudspeakers and 12 650-P High Power subwoofers.

Audio directors Sven Person and Asle Nilsen started sound hire company CAC (Cruising Audio Concept) in 1980 and purchased their first Meyer Sound system — the MSL-3/650 — 15 years ago. In 1997 the duo merged with lighting company AVAB. Person became familiar with the M3D system during an extended tour with the Norwegian band Aha.

"I've used most line array systems now and I haven't encountered a more efficient system than the M series," says Person. "To me it was quite clear that this was the choice to make when purchasing a line array system for our company. The headroom and the clarity of the system are both enormous. The decisive factor for me was when I used it at the Cologne Arena, a 17,000-seat venue. I walked right up into one of the top corners and the sound was the same as I'd been experiencing at the mix position."

The Nobel Peace Prize Concert was held in the 8,000-seat Oslo Spektrum arena. "The Spektrum is a complex venue, and there is no doubt that this is the first time we've ever had this sort of coverage," says Person, who served as the supervising technical director. This was the tenth time that Person had worked on the peace prize concert, and the fifth year it had taken place at the Spektrum. A sound crew from AVAB CAC comprising Frode Roe, Jarle Kvalsund, Thomas Wold, Stein Andre Hovden, Mark Wilett, Per Ola Holden and Kjartan Meinseth assisted him.

Meyer Sound's Pablo Espinosa was on hand to assist with the initial system design, using MAPP Online, Meyer Sound's multipurpose acoustical prediction program and the SIM System II FFT Analyzer. Two arrays of nine M3Ds with three M2Ds as downfills were flown as a left-right system, with a cluster of four M2Ds providing center fill. Six 650-Ps were positioned below the stage.

Adds Christian Wille, president of Meyer Sound's Norwegian distributor, LydRommet, "In this configuration the stage is along one of the long sides of the arena, with a throw of 50 meters from the front of the stage to the back seats. Added to this is the fact it's a very high room, with a distance of more than 20 meters from the floor to the top seats. Using the M3Ds we were able to throw the sound right to the back and obtain a near field sound up there. It's a wonderful system for this venue."

Jimmy Carter's opinion of this year's sound quality was backed up by the front of house engineers from the participating artists, as well as many members of the audience, who stopped to congratulate the engineers as they left the hall.

"Never before have we matched the sound we achieved with the M Series system at any previous peace prize concert," Person says. "There are also so many advantages to using the system, including the fact that it's self-powered, with no need for cables running everywhere; its compact and neat size, which means it's unobtrusive when in use; and the savings in terms of manpower and warehouse and trucking space. I haven't used the system outdoors yet, so I'm really looking forward to next summer."

Among other artists to appear at the concert, hosted by Sir Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange, were Norwegian vocalist Sissel, Lapp singer Mari Boine, British rock band Suede, opera singer Jessye Norman, Italian vocalist Laura Pausini and Spanish dancer Joaquin Cortes, with a spectacular finale by Carlos Santana and his 11-piece band.

December, 2002