Meyer Sound News : Meyer System "Blasted" into Charlotte Auditorium

Meyer System "Blasted" into Charlotte Auditorium

"Blast! brought in a Meyer system using CQs and it was the best sound I'd ever heard in this room. The very next day I was on the internet, trying to find out how we could get a pair in here for a demo."

- Jeff McManus,
Technical Director, Ovens Auditorium

When a touring production of the Broadway show Blast! roared through Charlotte, N.C., it left behind a strong sonic impression – one that eventually blossomed into a new, 20-cabinet Meyer Sound system worthy of any theater on the Great White Way.

Jeff McManus, technical director at Charlotte's Ovens Auditorium for the past 12 years, recalls the event: "Blast! brought in a Meyer system using CQs and it was the best sound I'd ever heard in this room. The very next day I was on the internet, trying to find out how we could get a pair in here for a demo."

Unwilling to wait for a complete system renovation, McManus convinced the auditorium management to quickly purchase a pair of the CQ-1 full-range wide coverage loudspeakers to supplement the venue's aging center cluster. According to McManus, using the CQs to provide wider left and right perspectives was "a big plus," but it was the consistent sound quality that really added another dimension to the venue's sound. "The CQs have a very linear taper to them," he observes. "When you increase the volume on most cabinets, the horns tend to outrun the mids, and so on down the line. But the CQs have a flat power response. They sound the same at low volumes as they do at high volumes."

About a year after the supplementary pair of CQ-1s arrived, the 55-year-old Ovens Auditorium took some short breaks in its busy events schedule to allow for a major refurbishing and technical upgrade. David Greenberg of Creative Acoustics was charged with tuning the room acoustics, while Curtis Kasefang of Public Assembly Consultants was brought in to assist in designing the new audio system. McManus adamantly insisted on a CQ-based system, and Kasefang gladly complied. "Who am I to argue with somebody who wants quality," he remarked. "So we saw to it that quality was what he got."

The new Ovens Auditorium system comprises what are essentially two identical main systems, with one for the main floor and another delayed for the balcony. As originally installed, each of the two (front and back) sub-systems has CQ-2 full-range narrow left and right main clusters, with center clusters of two UPA-1P compact wide coverage loudspeakers. However, as McManus explains, the UPAs were to give way to CQs after the first year. "We occasionally had shows where the left and right clusters got in the way of the lighting or staging, so we needed to cover the whole room from the center," he says. "The CQs give us plenty of power to do that."

Rounding out the Meyer Sound loudspeaker complement were six MM-4 miniature wide-range loudspeakers for front fill, and two 650-P high power subwoofers. All loudspeakers are networked on the RMS remote monitoring system. Real World Audio, Inc. of Asheville, North Carolina, was contracted to handle the installation, and company president Mark Girardi was pleased as how smoothly the project – his first using Meyer Sound products – proceeded from start to finish.

"Our first experience with Meyer was very positive," comments Girardi. "It was a high profile project with a very short time line, and we had many other details to worry about. But the Meyer products met, and even exceeded, all my expectations. Everything went in ahead of schedule and performed flawlessly. Also, the factory support was very good."

For this part, consultant Curtis Kasefang was similarly pleased with the outcome of his first major project involving Meyer Sound self-powered loudspeakers. One challenge he faced in system design was making the main clusters easily demountable when they had to be removed for touring rigs, or to disappear from sight when not needed. In this kind of 'hybrid' situation, according to Kasefang, "having the self-powered cabinets solves a number of problems because it's easier to bundle the connections into one cable and then fan them out to the cabinets."

When it came time to commission the system, Kasefang was equally impressed with the overall performance, from the CQ-2s in particular. "We were blown away by the low end on them," he admits. "When we were checking out the system without subs, we were wondering if maybe somehow they got turned on by mistake, because there was so much bottom end to the CQs. It was nice surprise."

As for Jeff McManus, nearly two years after first being "blasted" into action, he's more than happy with the Meyer Sound system now in residence. "Coupled with the acoustical treatments, the new system has really opened up the whole room. Putting in the CQs has magnified the quality tenfold compared to what we used to have in here."

September, 2003