Sydney’s oldest theatre – one of the most popular venues for international acts – has recently completed a sound system upgrade, along with its two sister venues.
Along with the Metro and Factory Theatres, the Enmore Theatre has been equipped with a new Nexo sound reinforcement system by Group Technologies. ‘Nexo has been the leading name for the past 15 years,’ says the theatres’ owner. ‘We started with Nexo Alpha and never looked back. When we decided to upgrade the Enmore, we looked at several brands and the Nexo Geo-D came up better all around’.
The venue was first opened in 1912 as a photo-play theatre in Sydney’s Newtown suburb, and is renowned for its intimate atmosphere and acoustics.
The front of house system comprises 22 Geo-D10s, eight Geo Subs, six Geo-S1230s for side fill and four NX242 es4s, are fitted with EtherSound expansion cards and additional DSP. Amplification is by 20 Camco Vortex 6 units. The monitoring system includes 14 PS15s, two LS1200 Subs, six Geo-S1210 (side fill), two RCF 8028 subs (side fill), four PS15 UTD controllers and a Geo-S12 UTD controller. Four Camco Vortex 6 and three Camco Techton 38.4s provide the power.
According to the theatre owner: ‘the aim was to get even sound dispersion throughout the entire venue so every punter had a great experience’. With the speakers being flown slightly ahead of stage, another appealing feature was the Geo-D’s cardioid pattern minimising spill behind the speakers to provide clear monitoring on stage.
The Factory Theatre, which is newer that the Enmore, has a Nexo Geo-S12 system. Tony Swan, the resident A/V technician believes the sound of the room is impeccable: ‘Many bands and engineers compliment us at Factory as the room has an excellent sound to it,’ he says. ‘Many engineers believe it is one of, if not the nicest sounding room in Sydney.’
The Factory front-of-house uses 12 Geo S1210s, four RS15s and two NX242 es4s. Two Camco Vortex 6 and two Camco Vortex 200Vs drive the system. Metro has an Alpha system comprising six Alpha M3s, ten Alpha B1s, six Alpha S2s, two NX242s and six Camco Vortex 6 amplifiers.
Group Technologies provided consultation, ensuring each system was specified and installed correctly. ‘The guys at GT are very approachable. They understand what we need because they come from the same background as us.’
