Among the many live performance venues that used pandemic downtime to upgrade their sound systems, the outdoor Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary, North Carolina, invited audio provider CareySound AVL to demo a sound system – in this case, the Electro-Voice X-Line Advance system paired with new Dynacord amplifiers.
‘When we got demo units of the new Dynacord amplifiers in the shop, I was immediately impressed by the way they transform anything we throw at them,’ says CareySound AVL President, John Carey. ‘Our X-Line Advance system suddenly felt so alive, I knew right away there was no turning back. The Koka Booth Amphitheatre demo gave us a real-world chance to experience that – and share that sound quality with our prospective clients.’
The Koka Booth Amphitheatre legacy system used an LCR loudspeaker format with outfield delays. After studying the venue, which hosts the North Carolina Symphony concert series annually, CareySound decided on an LR X-Line Advance line-array system with cardioid subs.
‘We realised this was going to be more of a shootout, with several other manufacturers,’ explains Ken Carey, CareySound founder and chairman. ‘Since most major tours bring in their own systems, our approach was to optimise the new house system for the symphony. That meant full-range, even coverage, all while keeping energy off the stage – especially sub energy. As a result, our demo sounded different. The other rigs all had this overwhelming low-end, which tends to hide a lot of details. By comparison, the EV-Dynacord system sounded great, very accurate and clear.’
After winning the contract, CareySound consulted with Electro-Voice application engineers to finalise the system design, using EV’s new installation-grade, fully weatherised version of X-Line Advance arrays and subs. Twin five-element X1i-212 arrays employ three 90° boxes above two 120° models for primary coverage. The original centre hang position now houses three EV X12i-128 dual 18-inch subwoofers in a cardioid configuration, hung in a custom rig created by CareySound. All feature fibreglass enclosures and protected electronics.
In addition, each of the three main hangs houses one EVF-1122D/94 down fill loudspeaker. Across the stage lip, six EVC-1082/96 speakers provide front fill, and six low-profile Electro-Voice MFX-12MC handle stage monitor duties. Away from the stage, the crescent-shaped concessions building at the back of the audience area is served by 12 EVC-1082-96 loudspeakers.
All the loudspeakers are driven by Dynacord IPX series amplifiers, with supervision via SoniCue Sound System Software and Dante audio networking over Cat6 and fibre lines. Performance is optimised via the EV factory loudspeaker settings in SoniCue. The combination of six Dynacord IPX10:4 amps – along with one each of IPX20:4 and IPX10:8 – delivers 90kW, powering every speaker using just eight amps, versus 25 in the venue’s legacy system. Along with their exceptional energy efficiency, all IPX models offer fully integrated 96kHz DSP for superior sound quality.
‘The audio transparency, DSP and power of these amps is remarkable,’ says Carey. ‘It’s to the point where I now suggest Dynacord IPX for every install we do. And I love that they seamlessly integrate with SoniCue for system design and control. It’s the cherry on top of an already impressive package.’
The Town of Cary recently hosted the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra at Koka Booth Amphitheatre for their first Summerfest date of 2022. ‘NCS was extremely happy with the quality of sound the system provided, and I have to say it was a pleasure to mix on the system,’ reeports Sean Loepp, Production Coordinator with the Town of Cary Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Dept. ‘Great job everyone.’
