The fifth appearance at the 55,000-seat Veltins Arena for PUR – currently Germany’s biggest band _ followed the ‘in-the-round’ format of their previous gigs – and their choice of different PA system for each performance.
‘This is a highly reverberant space,’ explains system technician Frank Müller, ‘and we have tried many different PA systems and configurations. This time we achieved absolutely the best result ever.’
It is d&b audiotechnik’s V-Series and ArrayProcessing that have fired Müller’s enthusiasm: ‘To work a room this size with throw distances up to 105m without a delay system, and to do it well, you need to address the typical shortcomings of any line array system, whatever the brand,’ says d&b Product Manager, Werner ‘Vier’ Bayer. ‘For example, the low/mids tend to be concentrated in the first twenty metres and muddy the overall tonal balance. Similarly, the spectral balance and intelligibility reduces over distance.’
Developed to address these well-known issues, ArrayProcessing optimises the tonal and level balance of d&b line array systems (Y, V and J-Series) over an entire listening area, defined by the mechanical vertical coverage angle. ‘The benefit of ArrayProcessing is that it allows us to refine frequency response and defined SPL over distance resulting in a higher total directivity precisely matching the audience areas as well as continuous and seamless HFC compensation,’ Bayer says. ‘And all without compromising the system’s headroom or losing d&b’s sonic signature.
‘Using the d&b ArrayCalc simulation software, the spectral and level performance targets can be defined, with the option to apply specific level drops of offsets to certain areas to create reduced level zones. To achieve the desired performance, ArrayProcessing applies a combination of FIR and IIR filters to each cabinet, which must be driven individually. This is all with an additional latency of only 5.9ms. ArrayProcessing also applies frequency response targets for all d&b line arrays, ensuring that all systems share a common tonality, regardless of Series, column length or splay settings.’
‘I’ve been with the band since 1995 when I started as a PA tech,’ says PUR FOH engineer, Patrick Eckerlin. ‘The moment we turned the system on my first feeling was, this is the best we’ve ever done in here and ArrayProcessing made it even better. We have also had great support from d&b; they have been absolutely great. They do nothing without involving us directly in what they do, and we see and hear the benefits as clearly as our audiences.’
More: www.dbaudio.com
