Stock Audio: UX8800 Success Story At Orchestra Concert
Last week (September 9), Stock Audio & Light provided a high-end sound reinforcement system featuring dual EAW UX8800 digital processors in tandem with KF760 Series line arrays for a memorial concert by the Limburg Symphony Orchestra that marked the liberation of the Netherlands in World War II.
The concert, held on the grounds of the American Battle Cemetery and Memorial in Margraten, the Netherlands, was highlighted by a performance of Verdi’s Requiem, accompanied by the Vocal Collective, a 60-member choir from Belgium.
Stock Audio, based in Geleen, the Netherlands, worked with the concert’s front-of-house engineer, Jo Smeets, to assemble a system providing enough headroom to reach a coverage area spanning beyond 150 meters (approximately 500 feet), while also capable of presenting a very natural sonic signature.
The sound team responded with a main system featuring dual line arrays, each comprised of six EAW KF760 modules above two KF761 wide-dispersion modules, flown stage left and right.
Low-frequencies were reinforced with eight EAW LA400 subwoofers with bent horn technology, groundstacked in groups of four beneath the main arrays. All loudspeakers were driven with LabGruppen fp6400 power amplifiers, with a DiGiCo D1 serving as house console and a Midas XL4 for monitors, largely for pre-mixing string instruments.
Holland PA, EAW’s distributor for the region, supplied two EAW UX8800 digital processors with Gunness Focusing for evaluation with this system. During soundcheck the day prior to the concert, Stock Audio Owner Paul Pelen immediately noted the significant upgrade in sonic performance provided by the UX8800 units, and in fact, decided on the spot to purchase them.
During both rehearsals and the concert, FOH Engineer Smeets, who’s primary focus is studio mixing, concurred with Pelen’s assessment. “This live system was like mixing in a studio, with all of the instruments sounding exactly the same as they do in my control room,” he states.
Guido Olischläger of Olischläger Soundengineering, Beek, the Netherlands, was also on hand to provide expert system technician services. He notes that “the main EQ wasn't used, and on the mixing channels, only the gain knobs and high-pass filter were used. In fact, very few channels had something done with EQ.
“With the system providing coverage out over 150 meters, it was great to provide the entire audience with a balanced mix and sonic presentation,” Olischläger concludes. (A big thank you to Guido for the details of this report, and also for the fine photos. More of his photos of the event are presented below.)
