Sound designers Chris Caton and Richard Colegate from CPS specified the R-H system. Colegate explains: "We chose the R-H system as it enabled us to provide West End style sound in a large multi-purpose room with a very challenging, hard acoustic environment."
In order to provide a coherent and uniform soundfield across the whole auditorium, a combination of R-H Co-Entrant loudspeakers were deployed - based around 14 of the CE153 cabinets (a combination of 60 and 90 degree horns) were flown in an LCR array format either side of the stage. Another four smaller R-H cabinets were flown on two delay trusses with four additional boxes used as the front fill. A Yamaha DME 32 DSP processor in conjunction with an Allen & Heath ML 5000 console at the FOH position controlled the system.
Sound engineer Tim Stephens commented: "The R-H cabinets are a great sounding full-range box, they’re not only very reliable but also offer a surprising amount of low end - enough to eliminate the need for any sub units. Working to very tight production deadlines (one rehearsal and soundcheck), CPS‘s technical support team collaborated with me on site to fully install the system. The R-H system proved invaluable as I could concentrate on 'colouring' the mix and perfecting the effects, whilst not having to worry about the system itself."
Richard Colegate enthused: "We have found that the R-H system to be extremely flexible from a rental company perspective. We can essentially use the same components in a variety of formats to cater for all of our customers in many different market segments."
The system has not only also been used on a number of musical productions including Annie, 42nd Street and Crazy For You, but also on a variety of conferences for British Gas and The Conservative Party.
(Lee Baldock)
