Music’s Biggest Night – the Annual Grammy Awards – were broadcast live in HD and 5.1 surround sound from LA’s Staples Centre to more than 23.5m viewers. In the hall, JBL VTX Series line arrays were again used by ATK Audiotek for the PA system.

Hosted by LL Cool J, the 58^th awards featured performances from the likes of Bonnie Raitt and Taylor Swift, as well as a tribute performance to David Bowie by Lady Gaga. ‘The PA system needs to provide clear and intelligible audio of the highest quality,’ says, ATK Audiotek VP of Special Events, Mikael Stewart. ‘Music is dynamic, but spoken voice requires even more clarity and precision – the details can easily become muddled with low quality reproduction. That’s why we choose the VTX Series. When you use a high-quality audio system, you can be confident that both the live audience and viewers watching at home around the world can easily hear and understand every word.’

This year’s system featured two hangs of 12-box JBL VTX V25 loudspeakers on either side of the stage for the main PA, in addition to two 16-box VTX V20 loudspeaker side clusters, two nine-box S25 subwoofer clusters and three eight-box VT20 delay clusters. The clusters were powered by Crown I-Tech 4x3500HD HD and MA 12000i power amplifiers powered the subwoofer clusters.

‘It’s always a compliment when your products are included in a project of this calibre, but when it’s the music industry’s elite – and on Music’s Biggest Night – that’s quite an honour,’ says Harman Professional Solutions Director of Marketing Strategy & Solutions for Tour & Cinema, Andy Flint. ‘We’re happy to be a part of such an electrifying night.’