"In addition to the school's own jazz events, the hall hosts the headline concerts for the Rochester International Jazz Festival each summer," says system designer Anthony Nittoli of consulting firm Akustiks LLC of South Norwalk, Conn. "With the old system, coverage was spotty at best, and it simply didn't have enough power for louder contemporary jazz. The festival had to bring in temporary systems, and they were often not well matched to the room."
For a permanent solution, Nittoli used the Meyer Sound MAPP Online Pro acoustical prediction programme to plot a LCR system with a centre array of 11 Mica line array loudspeakers. Side arrays comprise four MSL-4 and two CQ-1 loudspeakers each. The Meyer Sound complement also includes four 700-HP subwoofers, UPA-1P and UPM-1P fill loudspeakers, and a Galileo loudspeaker management system with a Galileo 616 processor. The Meyer Sound system was supplied by Go Media, with supporting infrastructure installed by AV Solutions, both of Rochester.
According to Ron Stackman, stage operations manager at the Eastman Theatre for 15 years, the audio upgrade was long overdue. "The difference is night and day," he says. "I've been pushing for a first-quality sound system since I've been here. It's thrilling to see it come to fruition. Even for spoken word, which is part of nearly every event, including symphony concerts, the new system is so much clearer and more articulate."
(Jim Evans)
