"I started the relationship with Columbia University's Lerner Hall by providing rental gear," said Lou Mannarino of L&M Sound in Staten Island, New York. "They would rent our equipment for events and activities in Lerner Hall - for everything from culture shows to meetings, concerts and other activities."
The Hall's previous system included a centre cluster that was not covering the room properly, making for unintelligible speech. Plus, the two mix positions were awkwardly placed. "One was behind glass and the other was difficult to manipulate," said Mannarino. "The system itself was underpowered with ceiling speakers used as under balcony fills."
Mannarino's system is based on the Turbosound Aspect loudspeaker system. "Everyone else had specified a line array. The Hall is long and narrow and I thought it needed an LCR system for proper imaging," he explained. "The Aspect system can run full-range with or without subwoofers, making them suitable for a truly multipurpose space like Lerner Hall."
Mannarino's LCR design included a centre cluster of four Turbosound TA-500 loudspeakers hung in a two-over-two formation. There is independent control of the top and bottom two cabinets in the centre cluster to compensate for the acoustical changes in the Hall when the balcony wall is open or closed.
Left and right are one each of the Turbosound TA-500s. Four Turbosound TSB-118 subwoofers are stored in a recessed area behind the proscenium. The subwoofers' placement matches the flown left and right loudspeakers when pulled out onto the stage. The under balcony and front fills were replaced with three each of the Turbosound TCS-30 loudspeakers. Mannarino also addressed the mix position issue by expanding the options to five different positions, all accessible via a new digital snake. "They are so happy with the system, they haven't brought in a rental from me since it was installed," he said.
For the utmost in flexibility, there are eight configuration choices for the sound system. Mannarino programmed the dbx DriveRack system with scenarios so the student-run facility could operate the system with ease. "The Turbosound Aspect speakers did more there than anyone anticipated," he added.
(Jim Evans)
