For the fourth year running it was Britannia Row Productions that supplied all four stages: the main bowl arena with delays and also the three tent stages - the circuitGROUND, the cosmicMEADOW and the neonGARDEN. Each stage was rigged with an L-Acoustics loudspeaker system, predominantly K1s on the main stage with K2s being the main component at the circuitGROUND, the cosmicMEADOW and the neonGARDEN.
For project manager Lez Dwight and his crew this year's game-changer proved to be the presence of the new L-Acoustic KS28 Subs and LA12X amplifiers that graced the main stage.
Officially unveiled and delivered for use in May, this was a significant enough opportunity for L-Acoustics application engineer, Dan Orton to visit the site on both days to evaluate their performance. "My role at EDC was to represent L-Acoustics at this early stage of the KS28 & LA12X release. Brit Row have been using our products for years and their systems engineers just did what they normally do but gained the added performance from the new platform."
That added performance certainly didn't go unnoticed. "I have never heard sub bass like this," reports Dwight. "Smooth even coverage wherever you were in the bowl. The amount of air these new subs move is staggering. Super low lows and musical to boot. L-Acoustics have certainly scored a winner here."
Orton agrees: "The KS28 has increased output performance by 3dB and reduced weight by 15% compared to its predecessors but that isn't the whole picture. The performance gains for the KS28 don't just come from the enclosure, a new electronics package is needed to reach that goal. The LA12X which has 12,000 watts of power, thanks to its smart DSP-controlled Switch Mode Power Supply (SMPS) with Power Factor Correction."
The nature of the EDM genre means that the sound was predominantly playback from DJs; just the headliners bought their own FOH engineers. Wayne (Rabbit) Sergeant was mixing for Avicii: "As always, Brit Row did an outstanding job; their crew are some of the best in the business and nothing is ever too much trouble FOH or on stage.
"As for the new KS28s, they're phenomenal! I've used L-Acoustics ever since it arrived on the market with the Vdosc system but there were details in the mix I had never heard before - in a good way! I love 'em - so much head room which is always the best solution. Everything you threw at them was handled effortlessly and efficiently and, in the bowl, good coverage can be a challenge especially with the bottom end. It was a pleasure."
A veteran of the challenges thrown up at most festivals even Dwight was impressed with what his crew achieved over the festival, "I'm immensely proud of our crew; covering all stages we put on forty acts within a 12-hour period. No matter what sort of show it is or what type of music is involved or what kind of performers are on the stage, our crew are always on the top of their game. A bit like those new KS28s I guess."
(Jim Evans)
