Canada's Jubilee Auditoriums Customize Twin Meyer Sound Systems to Meet Differing Needs
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The Northern Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton and Southern Jubilee Auditorium in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, were originally constructed in honor of Alberta's 50th anniversary. These centers for the fine arts provide homes to the Edmonton Opera, Alberta Ballet and Calgary Opera, as well as hosting a wide variety of theatrical, concert and cultural events. On the occasion of Alberta's centennial in 2005, a full rejuvenation of both facilities was ordered. Over the course of 14 months, the Jubilees received new seating for better sightlines, along with new self-powered Meyer Sound audio systems and state-of-the-art acoustical treatments to enhance the audience experience. Mechanical and lighting systems were also upgraded. The sound systems were designed in Meyer Sound's MAPP Online Pro acoustical prediction program, long before the physical reconstruction of the internal walls and acoustical treatments were in place. Sales and installation of the systems were handled by Allstar Show Industries, which has offices in both Edmonton and Calgary. Shawn Hines of GerrAudio, Meyer Sound's Canadian distributor contributed support to Fred Gilpin of Vancouver's Douglas Welch Design, the sound consultant on the project. "We do a lot in the background," says Hines. "For the Jubilees, we facilitated the first, original listening tests, measured it all with a SIM audio analyzer, then assisted Fred in the system design. That's our role, to help and facilitate." Hines notes that the Jubilee Auditoriums were among the earliest Meyer Sound customers in Canada, purchasing twin MSL-3 reinforcement loudspeaker rigs about 18 years ago. In addition, the Southern Jubilee was one of the first owners of the SIM II FFT analyzer when it came out. In keeping with the "twin halls" concept, both Jubilees had identical line arrays, deployed in a left-center-right configuration, at the time of their grand re-opening in 2005. The left and right arrays each used seven M2D compact curvilinear array loudspeakers hung beneath a pair of M2D-Sub compact subwoofers, while the center cluster also had seven M2D cabinets, augmented by four M1D ultracompact curvilinear array loudspeakers for downfill. Eight more M1D speakers, used individually, were spread across the lip of the stage on the movable orchestra pit wall for frontfill. For productions without a pit orchestra, the wall can be moved back to the front of the stage to accommodate extra seating. "The M1Ds move in and out with the wall," notes Rick Packer, technical coordinator for the Southern Jubilee. "We have separate delay and EQ settings for each location." A year after the renovations, both venues are extremely pleased with their Meyer Sound systems, but there has been a certain divergence in their layouts and deployments. At the Northern Jubilee, head of audio Roy Fraser made some significant adjustments to his system. "We found that the new room was now too reverberant for our tastes and decided to do a little experimenting," he says. In MAPP Online Pro Fraser designed a new array layout using the existing components. After consulting with Hines, the design was tweaked and a test performed. The new configuration redistributes the M2D units into a left-right system with 11 M2D cabinets on each side. The M2D-Subs that had been on the left-right clusters have been moved to the center hang, above the four M1D downfill units. "It was kind of a change that worked two ways," Fraser explains. "We wanted to reach down front a little more, and we also wanted to get more direct energy up into the second balcony. This configuration allowed us to do that without splaying the rig too much. It doesn't excite the reverberant field as much, so we have a lot more control." Fraser also added a Galileo loudspeaker management system. "What drew me to Galileo is the fact that it's purpose-built for line arrays, and replaces the two DSP units we've been using," he says. "It has EQ compensation for the low-mid-frequency buildup as you increase the length of the array, plus it compensates for temperature changes. The addition of the Galileo units has been very beneficial for us." The Northern Jubilee uses its existing stock of Meyer Sound products to complement the main house system as conditions require. For instance, a set of four UPA-1P compact wide coverage loudspeakers provides reinforcement for the upper balcony, while CQ-1 wide coverage main loudspeakers are sometimes used to provide coverage to the orchestra pit. For bigger productions, Fraser's crew can augment the system with the hall's stock of older Meyer Sound speakers. "A single Galileo is controlling everything," Fraser states. "As show requirements change, we'll take things out and turn things on as needed." Meanwhile, at the Southern Jubilee, technical coordinator Rick Packer and his crew also found the new venue design performed somewhat differently than expect. Like Fraser, Packer thinks his left and right arrays would benefit from additional length. "Our intention is to add a couple more M2Ds to both the left and right stacks eventually, but we have decided to stick with the LCR system," he says. To make the most of his existing system, Packer, like Fraser, added a Galileo system, which he feels has improved the sound of the system noticeably. "With Galileo, we get better bottom end response, a lot better transient response, and the parametric EQs are a lot more phase coherent," Packer reports. "It really helps the whole system sound better." At Southern Jubilee, each of the three arrays receives four feeds from the Galileo 616 processor: top, middle, and bottom zones for the M2D units, plus a subwoofer feed for the left and right arrays, and an M1D feed for the center array. The eight M1D cabinets along the stage lip receive their own Galileo output feed, and a final Galileo output drives a set of four UPA-1P cabinets employed as delay speakers for the second balcony. As a longtime SIM user, Packer feeds data from four B&K 4005 microphones, which he moves around the room as needed, to his trusty SIM analyzer to help him equalize response to all locations within the venue. March, 2007 |
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