NEWS
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IN THE DESERT The Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival is an annual two-weekend event that sees thousands of music fans descend on Indio, California. The festival has hundreds of acts, ranging from high-profile headliners to emerging indie artists, who perform across eight stages. The Yuma stage – the prime destination for house and techno music – was built to mirror a cosmopolitan nightclub; to create this pulsating atmosphere, Coachella’s stage organisers chose PK Sound’s robotic line array systems for the most impactful acoustics. The PK Sound systems offer patented multi-axis robotic technology, allowing the stage’s audio designers to project sound directionally. “Being able to robotically control the system’s acoustic coverage remotely and in real time is a huge benefit for minimising noise pollution within crowded urban areas,” said George Stavropoulos, head audio consultant for the Yuma stage. “The same principles apply when directing sound away from Yuma’s reflective tent walls to optimise clarity and punch for the packed crowd.”
A SOUND COMMUNITY
Having first heard the Panther system in action at an Ed Sheeran show, Kotthoff wanted to create a smaller-scale version. SVCC now possesses two arrays of seven loudspeakers as well as ten 2100-LFC elements – six suspended and four on the ground, acting as a sub boost. “This set-up allows us to deliver a controlled low end that projects over the crowd, creating a clean, bass-heavy experience everyone can feel and hear,” he claimed. Housing 1200 people at a time, SVCC’s main campus now benefits from clear and crisp audio, whether a pastor is speaking or the choir is singing. “There’s something special, something different about Panther,” said Chris Gille, creative solutions engineer at HouseRight, the system’s supplier and installer. “It is an immersive experience from the moment people enter the room.”
Sun Valley Community Church (SVCC), a house of worship with a congregation of 18,000 and counting, turned to Meyer Sound to enhance its audio offerings. The church, which spans seven campuses and also offers its own streaming channel, wanted to provide a more immersive experience, using the Panther linear line array loudspeakers and 2100-LFC low-frequency control elements to do so. SVCC previously housed Meyer Sound’s Leopard system at its main campus, relocating to its South Gilbert location to make way for the Panther system. The new installation supports plans to expand its programming – as well as its sense of community. “Panther transforms the worship culture entirely,” said Matt Kotthoff, SVCC’s production and integration lead director.
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