The format of the show bears some resemblance to the US's American Idol, in that judges select a small group out of thousands of hopefuls to compete in a series of contests and rehearsals, and in the final rounds of competition, public voting determines the winner. The weekly competitions culminate with a concert taped in front of a live audience at Churubusco Studios, one of Latin America's largest and most prestigious film studios.
"We needed a speaker that would perfectly fit the studio's stage in terms of size, appearance, ease of setup, and transportation, and that would offer uniform sound pressure without having an impact on the results of the TV mix," says engineer Carlos Hugo Martinez Quintero, sound manager of TV Azteca and leader of the project. "For almost six years, we rented a PA for these events, which was a big expense for the company. This time, we decided to buy the majority of the equipment, and the priority was to get a high-quality system for the audience inside the studio."
Martinez and team installed the system in a way that would not interfere with the programme's aesthetics. For the main system, 12 M'elodie cabinets were hung on each side of the stage, placed near the walls and as high as possible, while four MSL-4 horn-loaded long-throw loudspeakers were placed in the centre to ensure sound was delivered uniformly to each of the 650 audience members.
An acoustic white mesh was installed to cover the equipment so that the loudspeakers would blend with the stage background. For low-frequency support, the production team set six 650-P high-power subwoofers under the stage. A UPA-1P compact wide coverage loudspeaker was hung for delay coverage, and another hung for effects. For monitoring on the 183ft by 215ft stage, the team incorporated 17 MSL-4 cabinets and four 650-P subwoofers.
(Jim Evans)
