Recently reopened after a complete interior renovation, the 685-seat Baldwin Auditorium on the campus of Duke University in Durham, NC has installed a Meyer Sound Mina line array loudspeaker system.
‘We’d designed the physical acoustics to be quite live, so we needed line arrays to focus sound on the audience and not excite the architecture,’ explains Ben Bausher, Senior Consultant at Jaffe Holden, who designed the hall’s acoustics and reinforcement. ‘We also wanted a minimal profile for aesthetic reasons. Finally, a self-powered solution was mandatory, as there was simply no place to put amp racks, much less a cooled equipment room. Mina was a perfect fit on all counts.’
The system comprises main LR arrays of ten Mina loudspeakers each, supplemented by ten UP-4XP 48 V loudspeakers for front fill, two MM-4XP self-powered loudspeakers for side-balcony coverage and two UPJ-1P VariO loudspeakers for over-balcony coverage. Four 500-HP subwoofers are recessed under the stage for vibration isolation and a Galileo loudspeaker management system with both a Galileo 616 and a Galileo 616 AES processor provides system drive and optimisation.
The system was installed by Audio & Light: ‘As self-powered technology eliminates the need for an amplifier room, the Mina system was more cost-effective as well,’ says Brian Cox, VP of Sales at Audio & Light’s Installation Division.
‘The system coverage is exceptionally uniform,’ says Richard Kless, Assistant Manager of Theatre Operations for Duke University. ‘What we had before was really a glorified rehearsal space, and now it’s a splendid-sounding and aesthetically gorgeous concert hall. It was an amazing transformation.’
The new system works with the room’s acoustics for performances of classical, jazz, world music and other music. These concerts are presented by the school’s own music department and Duke Performances, which sponsors touring professional artists.
The Baldwin Auditorium renovation project was designed and supervised by New York-based Pfeiffer Partners Architects in consultation with Ray Walker, Duke campus architect. Principal acousticians for Jaffe Holden were Mark Holden and Matthew Nichols.
More: www.meyersound.com
