Cambridge Junction ups its performance with d&b’s XSL.
Renowned live music venue Cambridge Junction has upgraded with an XSL system from d&b, designed and installed by Autograph Sound.
The larger of the two main performance spaces is the almost rectangular J1, with capacity for 850 standing. The smaller, J2, is a 220-seat theatre space. J1 has always been a difficult space, notoriously loud because of the front-of-house PA’s proximity to the stage, while the room’s tonality from front to back was inconsistent due to the small hangs. Although the Q-Series had served the venue well, it was struggling for headroom on live gigs and often needed supplementing for drum and bass club nights.
The solution had to deliver faultless performance, plus greater headroom, and a more comfortable stage level, all while fitting within existing infrastructure and dealing with the inherent problems of J1’s unusual shape.
Autograph chose d&b’s cardioid XSL system, which has drastically reduced J1’s stage volume, meaning the monitors are no longer forced to ‘fight’ the PA. Many smaller live music venues suffer exactly this problem, so the XSL’s inherent full-broadband control is an ideal solution.
J1’s system consists of L&R flown arrays, each of four XSLi12 (installation) cabinets, complemented by two d&b Vi7P out-fills and a central Vi10P as down-fill. Low-end is from six KSL-GSUBs and power from eight 40D amplifiers. A DS10 interfaces between the Dante network and the d&b system.
To serve J2’s variety of auditorium formats, four E8 loudspeakers, driven by a 30D amplifier, provide full coverage to the tiered seating and balconies: this is sufficient for incidental music, smaller comedy gigs or spoken word. For other formats, requiring extra headroom and level, the E8s act as balcony delays for a larger ground-stacked V-Series system. Presets on the 30D amplifier offer fast adjustment for the various formats.
The ground-stacked system is configured as two V-GSUBs per side with V7P on top, plus two KSL-GSUBs beneath the raised stage for when extra low-end is needed. Power is from two D40 amplifiers in a portable rack along with a DS10. A mobile system of two V7P, four V-GSUBs and two KSL-GSUBs is also provided, powered via a D40 amplifier. Here again, a DS10 interfaces with Dante.
A flexible monitor package of 16 MAX2 wedges and four B6 subwoofers is shared across J1 and J2. Power comes from four D20 amplifiers, racked as a single 8-channel and two 4-channel systems, giving further flexibility. When not in use as monitors, a pair of B6s and MAX2s can be used as a small format system when needed around the venue.
d&b XSL solves several problems for Cambridge Junction. Its full bandwidth directivity control lowers on-stage levels, and although the hangs are smaller than the Q-Series, XSL has more headroom. Using ArrayProcessing, the team evened out the room’s tonality, maximising the system’s performance. Another advantage was that the installation was easily able to use J1’s existing hanging positions and infrastructure.
The new PA replaces an old d&b Q series system, some of which has been repurposed to serve the smallest space – known as J3.
