The complex and configurable Martin Audio Wavefront Precision sound system installed throughout the new Blackpool Conference & Exhibition Centre is the work of Media Powerhouse System Designer, Samuel Williams.
The first major building development at the Winter Gardens complex since the construction of the Opera House in 1939, the venue, set over two levels, and is one of the largest of its kind in the north of England. It offers the infrastructure necessary for hosting conferences, exhibitions and live events, ranging from the recent Conservative Party Conference, through theatre productions to full-tilt rock.
The Derby-based company’s integration includes cutting-edge projection video and smart lighting technology, as well as Martin Audio scalable line arrays in each of the centre’s eight rooms
The exhibition space is set on the first floor, with a large 2,000-capacity conference space on the second. It is conceived as four separate but reconfigurable venues on both floors, with a total of 2,400sq-m of reconfigurable space. This space can be combined with others throughout the complex to further expand its 7,000 capacity.
Williams also acted as the consultant, and was aware that the spaces needed to function both as stand-alone rooms and divided into smaller cells with partitions removed. This would require the technical infrastructure to be highly flexible, with presets for all technical services available for each room configuration.
‘Martin Audio was [in the frame] from the beginning,’ Williams says. ‘We had briefly looked at another brand, but it wouldn’t have given them what they wanted – from a 15m throw up to a 60m throw – or the versatility. It needed a different kind of box, and one that was affordable. Initially, we were going to use WPM, but it was not big enough so when Martin Audio released WPS we immediately made the decision to upgrade. It’s certainly one of the better sounding boxes on the market.
‘In fact, Martin Audio is putting some serious engineering into its products, where other manufacturers seem to have stopped and are relying too much on digital processing,’ he adds. ‘You look at other waveguide designs and they haven’t changed, whereas WPS is a good example of speaker design innovation.’
With assistance from Martin Audio Product Support Engineer, Robin Dibble, Williams specified a total of 32 WPS elements along with their flying frames divided between the eight rooms, along with 12 XD12 stage monitors, 32 Blackline X8 and 12 SX118 subs. In its basic configuration, the processed arrays are powered from Martin Audio iKon iK42 four-channel amplifiers in two-box resolution, with each pair of array cabinets fed from one amplifier channel. Everything runs on a Dante backbone.
‘For each usage there is an individual optimisation for the WPS arrays, carried out in Display 2 and stored in the iKon amplifiers,’ says Williams. ‘We can recall the optimisations automatically via the venue control system depending on the changing configurations. In the first installation of its kind, when the array is changed, the configurations are recalled through the presets. Every room has a default setting, and everything works automatically; the system just needs to be told what mode it is in, and all incoming production needs to do is to patch into the system.’
This has been a long project: ‘I designed the original layout nearly four years ago,’ says Williams, who was also responsible for all programming. ‘After we bid successfully for the job the contract got delayed for a number of years. The venue is now being operated by Blackpool Entertainment Co Ltd.
‘Media Powerhouse has been able to accommodate technical design changes to suit the direction of the business,’ says Deputy Head of Facilities/Technical Manager, Ben Rooney ‘Sam reassured me that for the required application Martin Audio was far more suited to our business model [than the other brand under consideration] due to its multiple tier offerings.
‘Upon hearing WPS as a visiting system in the ballroom prior to the installation I knew it would be a platform we could deploy in all of our large format venues. Media Powerhouse subsequently invited me and complex facilities manager, Phil Jackson, to Martin Audio’s UK factory where we listened to some Adorn and O-Line products which we are currently looking at for installation within some of our other venues, as part of our future fitout plans.’
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