V from d&b for TCT at RAH 2012.
“As we have found with every new loudspeaker that comes from d&b audiotechnik, the new V-Series does exactly what it says it will in the brochure.” Dick Hayes, Director of Entec’s audio department speaking after another successful run of Roger Daltrey’s now legendary Teenage Cancer Trust (TCT) fund raising concerts at the Royal Albert Hall. “This was the twelfth year Entec Sound and Light has covered TCT and it seems every couple of years we get to introduce a new d&b loudspeaker to an unsuspecting British public and we’ve never been disappointed.”
Entec’s System Engineer Liam Halpin found immediate advantages to integrating the V-Series with their regular J-Series main system. “We’ve been using J-Series in here for several years now and, like most people, use Q-Series for coverage of the sides and rear. The throw distance is short and wide and although the Q is not a perfect match for J, if you take your time in the setup you can achieve an almost seamless transition as you walk between the fields of the two types of cabinets. The V-Series is specifically designed to compliment J and it does, perfectly”.
The V-Series has been designed by d&b to match the extraordinary power and bandwidth of the venerable J-Series, but in a smaller cabinet suited to side and fill duties. Possessing the same horizontal dispersion as its larger cousin, the V-Series also performs as a stand-alone system in its own right, the combination of V8, V12 and V-SUB proving ideal for theatres and smaller arena venues. With matched driver arrangement it also sounds identical to the J-Series, as Halpin confirmed, “I was able to achieve totally seamless transition with almost no effort; that alone saved time.”
Dick Hayes also noted the time saving elements of V-Series, “As we know it’s an unusual audience disposition in the Albert Hall and Liam has always gone to great lengths with his system design to make sure those at the back hear everything the main front audience do. That has in the past involved a hang of nine side facing Q1s each side, with a C4 suspended high up to cover the extreme upper seats. This year he was able to achieve the same coverage with main hangs of fourteen J8s and side hangs of just six V8s, with two wide angle V12s on top; no C4 was needed at all. That saves on rigging and fiddle time. Simon Thomas, Jessie J’s front of house engineer came up to me after her performance and said the system sounded great.”
Thomas wasn’t alone, Ian Laughton, the lucky man currently mixing for Florence and the Machine got to close the seven day run of TCT shows on Tuesday 3rd April. “We had a very different musical show from the tour. We disposed of the two drum kits and had just Florence with harp, piano and a thirty piece orchestra, strings brass and woods, plus choir. I’ve used J-Series before on festivals, know the sound and like it, so I took the opportunity to walk around the room while the new musicians rehearsed in the afternoon. My first thought was, there’s not a lot up in the air, especially at the back, but when I got up there it sounded absolutely beautiful, and as Liam said, the transition was seamless, and I thought very smooth. We had an absolutely cracking gig on the night and really enjoyed ourselves.”
