Sound System Supply & Installation at Centenary Centre

"In particular - For our recent World Music Festival the system sounded brilliant for a wide variety of musical styles. The Adlib team did a tremendous job in designing the system and installing it with the minimum amount of fuss, in the correct time-frame. I have nothing but praise for them!”

- Dave Mclean, Director, Centenary Centre

The Requirement

Adlib's installation department was contacted by Dave Mclean who is one of the musical directors at Centenary Centre in Peel on the Isle of Man. The venue was looking to source a new, high-specification front-of-house sound system along with a digital mixing console to supplement all future productions at their vibrant music venue.

The Centenary Centre is a live venue steeped in music history. Due to its beginnings as a Victorian era church, it has tremendous charm and character, hosting the likes of Andy Fairweather Low, Barbara Dickson, Kenny Ball, Eric Bibb, Turin Brakes.

Along with live music, the space also schedules regular cinema screenings, world music & folk festivals, seasonal musical theatre and amateur dramatics from amongst others ‘The Peel Pantaloons’.

It is an important community hub for Peel, its surrounding areas, and the island so improving the sound experience for all the above along with the much-loved cinema screenings was an essential requirement of any new sound system.

Adlib were able to offer competitive pricing for supplying and installing any final sound system solution.

The Solution

Adlib liaised with Dave and Mark Cain, their in-house sound technician, to collect a comprehensive list of the venue's requirements, which would allow them to formulate and optimise a sound system design for the space. This required a detailed survey of the building’s legacy power and cabling infrastructures.

Sound System and Control

Adlib engineers visited the venue for an initial meeting on site to discuss the pros and cons of the legacy system with Dave and Mark. A detailed site survey was then undertaken allowing Adlib engineers to map and acoustically model the theatre with Soundvision, L-Acoustics’ proprietary
sound modelling software.

Several different loudspeaker configurations were considered before an ARCS-II and SB18i solution were circled by Adlib’s sound designers as the right solution. This flexible configuration suited the size and scale of the venue and its differing events delivering both the desired coverage and sound pressure levels for a venue of its scale.

The final system comprised 4 x flown ARCS-II Loudspeakers, flown 2 per-side and with nearfield coverage support offered by a pair of installed X12 fills - the X12’s offer coverage to those areas near to the stage. For additional low frequency support, SB18i Subs were carefully introduced beneath the ornate wooden stage. The system is driven and controlled with LA8 and LA4X amplifiers with L-Acoustics control application, LA-Network Manager.

The cinema surround sound solution was also upgraded with six of Adlib’s own product, the AA61 loudspeakers. This system is powered with crown amplification and processed with Linea Research digital processing.

Finally, a new Allen & Heath SQ-6 Console was also supplied along with 3x DX168/X digital stage boxes and for connectivity, a new cabling and containment infrastructure was also introduced. This mixer package replaced a legacy Allen & Heath unit and various outboard equipment and freed up space at the mix position. It helps to reduce ‘set-up’ times and simplify sound-checks also allowing additional time for stage changeovers and optimal microphone placement.

The Result

Owed to diligent preparation and continuous communication, Adlib made sure that Centenary Centre would not be disturbed over a 6-day period when the works were scheduled. This ensured that the installation works would not get in the way of the venue’s busy calendar of events, as the Adlib team worked outside of the venue’s general opening hours.

The venue's director Dave Mclean added: “We couldn’t be happier with the results. Adlib even took the time to analyse and reconfigure our stage monitor processor settings, ensuring optimal performance alongside the new front of house system. The Adlib on-site team guided us through system operation including use of the SQ-6 and use of LA-Network Manager and general system control. Now that the system has been in use for a few months, we have had no end of compliments about the sound quality and results, both from the public and performers."

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