The Maxwell C. King Center has served the Brevard County community for 37 years, hosting everything from Broadway tours to rock icons. Located in Central Florida, the King Center is equipped to accommodate national touring productions, making it an essential cultural hub for the region. Thus, keeping up-to-date technologically is imperative, and JBL Professional solutions helped achieve just that.
The heart of the multi-venue facility, the 2,016-seat L3 Harris Technologies Theatre, is an acoustically live space with a wide fan shape and a spacious mezzanine level, designed to host a wide variety of events. By 2024, the previous JBL Professional sound system, now 20 years old, had served its time. Recognizing the need to stay ahead in delivering unparalleled experiences for audiences, the decision was made to upgrade the sound system.
The variety of events, including Broadway shows, rock concerts, ballets, and more, demands a system capable of delivering pristine sound for anything. The King Center turned to trusted partner APAV Solutions for the upgrade. This three-year project, overseen by Rob Adams, director of facilities, and the venue's dedicated technicians, including Ed Guilbeau, house audio technician at the King Center, involved upgrading amplifiers and engineering a new steel beam to support the load of the cutting-edge JBL VTX Series loudspeakers. Their tireless efforts ensured the installation met the venue's exacting standards for excellence.
Craig Beyrooti, CEO of APAV Solutions, led the design process. “I designed the system in JBL’s Venue Synthesis software only a few days after it had come out. I added a few boxes more than had been in the previous system, just for coverage, not power. There’s way enough power there,” Beyrooti explained. “Then, of course, I spoke with the team at JBL Professional, had them review the design, and we did a little more tweaking. For instance, we ended up flying some subs in the center.” The project benefited from the collaborative approach. “APAV was great to work with. It was a group effort, and we were able to work through each idea for the best solution all around” Guilbeau commented.
The main system consists of two flown arrays, each constituted of eight VTX A12 Dual 12-inch Line Array Loudspeakers and two VTX A12W 120-Degree Dispersion Dual 12-inch Line Array Loudspeakers. Six VTX B28 Arrayable Dual-18-inch Subwoofers are flown in a center array that has two cabinets reversed in order to produce a cardioid dispersion pattern. The system is powered by 28 Crown I-Tech 12000HD amplifiers, plus four Crown I-Tech 4x3500HD amps. The addition of more high-power amplifiers necessitated adding some capacity to the electrical service.
The installation process was collaborative and smooth, though not without its challenges. “The theater has a full orchestra shell made of metal, and the whole space is designed to reinforce acoustical sound coming out of the shell,” Beyrooti noted. “With the last system, I moved the speakers further on stage and away from the corner where there would be really horrible reflections. This time, I had them move the speakers a bit further in and remove two of the reflector panels that were directly above the arrays to avoid a bounce from above.”
The width of the room had previously been addressed by situating three VTX A8 Dual 8-inch Compact Line Array Loudspeakers with 110-degree Dispersion stacked on top of a B18 Arrayable Single 18-inch Subwoofer on each side of the stage. The addition of the VTX A12W cabinets provided much greater wide coverage than had been previously delivered, but the A8 cabinets were kept to ensure the best possible coverage out to the sides.
[Welcome to the New Era of Live Events]
The A12 arrays provided plenty of power and coverage all the way to the back of the room, including the mezzanine. The previous system had four AM4212/95 Two-Way Loudspeakers for the last few rows, but since their role was minimal, removing or replacing them seemed more trouble than it was worth. Instead, they were left in place and remained in use. “They’re barely working. Honestly, if they were turned off, the people sitting back there would still think it sounded pretty amazing given how far back they are,” stated Beyrooti.
Beyrooti received more support from JBL Professional to get the new system properly tuned, in the form of Applications Engineer Raul Gonzalez, who had helped Beyrooti tune the last system he’d installed years before and now rejoined Beyrooti to finalize the upgrade installation.
With the upgrade complete, the King Center is ready to deliver an unmatched audio experience for its audiences. “It's all about coverage here, and this system just nails it down,” Guilbeau said. “When we host things like a ballet with an open orchestra pit, we used to have problems with the upfront coverage; the sound would go right over the heads of the first three rows past the pit. Now we're covered almost overlapping into the pit. Everyone that's come in since the install has commented that the coverage is exquisite. The system really fits the room; it’s nice.”
“It's a great system; it really is,” concurred shop steward Mark Brasel. “I notice the difference with coverage so much better now from the back of the balcony all the way down to those first couple seats. It's really even across the board.”
As an aside, Beyrooti admitted to being particularly pleased at how well things turned out because he has a personal stake in it, as well as APAV’s interests. “I live 10 minutes from the King Center, and that’s where I go fairly regularly to check out concerts and other events. I wanted it to sound good because, you know, I’d be one of the punters in the scene.
