Established more than 50 years ago, the Greater Atlanta Christian School (GACS) is a PK-12 Christian school in Norcross, Georgia, with a reputation for using advanced technologies in its quest to further the learning needs of its students. This committment to high-quality creative and technical facilities for its arts and media curriculum, has led the school to invest in three Alcons Audio pro-ribbon sound reinforcement systems for its venues.

The first of the three spaces to be equipped with an Alcons system was the Artusa Hall Performing Arts Center, a former chapel that the school repurposed. This included completely rebuilding the interior, adding a self-supporting timber framed balcony, and increasing the audience capacity from 700 to 950. A key requirement was to deliver the best technical facilities, but not to visually detract from the internal architecture. In a venue featuring highly reflective, polished wood surfaces and a glass balcony front, it was a perfect scenario for the Alcons LR7 pro-ribbon micro line-array.

‘They wanted something that would deliver great sound for everything from solo classical recitals to drama, ballet, orchestra, choir and bands, including renting the venue to outside performers,’ says Alex Fleming of Atlanta-based Lodestar Labs.

The Artusa Hall system comprises arrays of six LR7/90 (6.5-inch) micro line array modules and two LR7B single 12-inch bass modules per side, flown just in front of the proscenium arch. Two, floor mounted BC332 cardioid subwoofers (18-inch front/15-inch rear) per side add extra low end where required. A single SR9 double 5-inch in fill monitor provided front fill for the first rows, and four 6.5-inch TS3 full-range monitors provide under-balcony fill. Two VR12i and two VR12iM mid-size 12-inch monitors handle stage monitoring. The whole system is powered and controlled by four Sentinel10 amplified loudspeaker controllers.

‘We first heard Alcons systems when demoing speakers for the Artusa Hall and we were blown away by the L-series boxes,’ says GACS A/V tech, JD Cooper. ‘We immediately realised that the pro-ribbon systems are phenomenal. The accuracy and clarity is unmatched by traditional compression drivers.’

After hearing how the LR7 pro-ribbon system transformed the sound of the Artusa Hall, the technical team at GACS chose Alcons to replace existing, underperforming PA systems in two more of its venues – the Clifton Jones Theater and the Long Forum. The Clifton Jones Theater had similar requirements to the Artusa Hall including exceptional speech and music reproduction with very high gain before feedback, complemented by minimal visual impact. Here, the LR7 micro line array system was again the optimum solution, with five LR7/90 and one LR7B per side for the main system, plus a pair of VR8 stage monitors, all powered and controlled by two Sentinel3 amplified controllers.

‘Some of the unique features of the Alcons pro-ribbon systems are the fast transient response and significantly reduced distortion commonly associated with compression driver-based systems,’ Fleming says, ‘Together they deliver the most natural reproduction of music, effects and the human voice.’

The largest of the three spaces, the Long Forum is a 4,000-seat arena that also serves as auditorium for national touring acts, larger assemblies and athletic events. As is typical of these larger ‘gymnatoria’, there was a variety of significant design challenges including the highly reverberant space and multi-use requirement.

For the main concert system, nine Alcons LR18 line array modules per side were specified. Two VR12 12-inch monitors were used in horizontal orientation for out fill. The system is supplemented by four BC543 (triple 18-inch active cardioid) subwoofers.

‘The Alcons subwoofer technology continuously delivers incredible impact, while also minimizing over-exciting the acoustic space in areas where the audience isn’t present,’ Fleming adds. It is notable that the four Alcons subwoofers replaced 16 dual 18-inch subwoofers by a different manufacturer and the four Alcons units delivered a cleaner sound and 10dB more SPL, with more to spare if needed.

Also, in the Long Forum, an arena system was installed for basketball games and half-court assemblies. Using seven RR12 point source array modules, comprised of 6-inch pro-ribbon drivers and 12-inch woofers, set horizontally in three array clusters of two, three and two cabinets each. The entire Long Forum system is powered and controlled by seven Sentinel10 amplified loudspeaker controllers.

For portable applications GACS added a pair of VR8 compact versatile monitors. The VR8 is a two-way ultra-compact multi-purpose loudspeaker that makes a powerful, flexible, and easy to deploy, compact portable system. ‘We are fortunate to have multiple Alcons systems on our campus,’ says GACS A/Vtech Ben Chambless. ‘I’m blown away at the intelligibility and detail. The gain before feedback is exceptional. I’m amazed at how much sound can come out of speakers this size.’

‘The diversity of the boxes is wonderful, as there is a perfect solution for almost any application,’ Cooper agrees. ‘My favourite thing about Alcons speakers is that people immediately notice how fantastic they sound. You don’t have to explain the technology to them, they already understand that this is a different kind of speaker.’

‘Nothing in our experience is similar to the sonic excellence heard throughout the Alcons systems,’ Fleming says in conclusion. ‘The handling of sources as they move through the loudness curve is unmatched - vocals at high SPL are the cleanest, most natural we’ve ever heard. Directivity, feedback rejection, technology, ease of deployment and other factors are also industry leading.

‘The customer really loves the Alcons pro-ribbon systems and has noticed superior results in all three venues. Less EQ is needed to get excellent tone on each channel and little corrective EQ is needed to reduce feedback on even the most challenging of lavalier or headset mics. They have also said that the sonic width of the Alcons solutions are superior to all other speaker systems that have previously been used or auditioned in the spaces.’

More: www.alconsaudio.com