Having installed an Alcons Audio LR7 pro-ribbon micro line array system in 2018, the Rialto Theater in Loveland, Colorado, had left its existing subwoofers in place – these have now been upgraded with Alcons subwoofers, bringing the system to its full potential.

Although the first 75 years of the venue’s existence was rather checkered, since 1996 the restored Rialto has thrived as a combined movie house, live arts venue and community centre. When the city-owned venue’s sound reinforcement system was updated three years ago, it was a challenge to find a system that could deliver powerful, high-quality sound while respecting its protected 1920s decor and now hosted a broader range of events than it was designed for.

The solution was an Alcons system, comprising eight 6.5-inch LR7/90 micro line array modules per side, two SR9 double 5-inch micro monitors as front fill, powered and controlled by Sentinel amplified loudspeaker controllers.

This transformed the quality and detail of the sound for all the Rialto’s events from physically small arrays. Budget constraints meant that the subwoofers could not be updated at the time and, in a subsequent upgrade, a pair of Alcons Cinemarray CRA24 double 12-inch medium format, line source loudspeakers were added as a centre screen channel for movie shows and centre cluster for other productions.

Now, a third phase of investment has seen the replacement of the original subwoofers with three double 18-inch Alcons BF362i MkII high-output subwoofers and a further 4x 2.5kW Sentinel10 amplified loudspeaker controller.

‘The existing subwoofers were underperforming,’ says Rialto Theater Technical Coordinator, Phil Baugh. ‘The LR7 pro-ribbon arrays, Cinemarray and SR9s all sounded beautiful and clear, so it was time to provide low-end reinforcement which matched the quality and power of the rest of the Alcons system. Importantly, we needed a solution to deliver powerful bass frequencies to the entire theater without them building up in the corners, along the walls or spilling onto the stage.

‘The first time I heard our LR7s immediately sold me on the Alcons brand. So, when the time came to upgrade our subwoofers, Alcons was the first name on our list.’

The staff heard demos of subwoofers from other brands, but Baugh and his team felt that a fully integrated Alcons system would best deliver the results they wanted. ‘We use Alcons’ ALControl to manage the other speakers and Sentinel amplifiers, so adding integrated subs and amplifiers made perfect sense,’ he says.

The Rialto technical team installed and commissioned the BF362i MkII subwoofers, and Baugh’s belief was vindicated. ‘We experimented with several room configurations to achieve the coverage we needed and immediately found that the Alcons subs delivered clear, punchy low end, without the muddiness we heard from other options that we demoed,’ he reports.

‘The coverage and raw power are truly incredible, especially given the slim profile of the physical enclosure. Our concert sound is full, clear and deep, and our cinema configuration has never sounded better. This fully integrated system is certainly ahead of competing subwoofers in the same price range.’

‘We have been very impressed with how well these boxes integrate with our existing Alcons rig,’ concurs Rialto Theater Manager, Steve Lemmon. ‘We look forward to a long relationship with Alcons Audio.’

More: www.alconsaudio.com