The Vine Theater located within the Del Lago Resort and Casino in Waterloo, NY, hosts an array of touring bands, comedians, and other performances. The 1,600-seat live performance venue has upgraded its concert system to a 1 SOUND system. The Vine which is in the circuit of touring bands, comedians, and other performances chose 1 SOUND point sources over more popular line array options for their theater.
The decision to upgrade the audio system came in response to ongoing concerns regarding sound quality, system reliability, and the deteriorating condition of the previous self-powered line array system. Tom Knauss, principal consultant at NV5 Consultants was brought in to review the current system and provide recommendations. "The existing system had reached a point where many components were beyond repair, and the overall sound quality was suffering," said Knauss. “We initially received three rider-friendly proposals generally based on the replacement of the existing line array system with new line array components.” Within NV5’s review of the three proposals, in addition to these options and based upon the success of several recent proscenium theater upgrade projects, NV5 advised Del Lago of the potential for considering an alternate design approach. The alternate approach would be based on a digitally modeled, multi-channel, point source arrays.
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Intrigued by the "alternate" approach, Del Lago management requested an on-site demonstration of a point source solution from 1 SOUND. Given the venue's urgent needs, 1 SOUND agreed to provide an on-site demonstration to be followed by a factory-developed report including a recommended system design and proposal from an authorized 1 SOUND integrator.
1 SOUND's founder and designer, Lou Mannarino, conducted the on-site demonstration based on a preliminary digital model utilizing multiple full-range point source devices and carefully located subwoofer devices. “The Vine's physical dimensions presented unusual challenges as it is nearly 100 feet tall and only 100 deep. Our approach with Tom was to design with point sources instead of a line array because of the width and depth of the space.” said Lou Mannarino. Using just a left and right stack of a SUB2112 with a Contour CT212 on top, the demonstration system immediately outperformed the existing system.
“I was immediately blown away and floored by what I was hearing out of what little speakers were in the room,” said Mike Richards, FOH engineer at The Vine. “We wanted new technology that would cover our room and give us the sound pressure levels we needed for the concerts we are doing. 1 SOUND fit that bill perfectly.”
Anthem Productions, a 1 SOUND dealer and integrator was awarded the contract to complete the full installation of the system. The full system included left, center, right, under balcony, over balcony, stage fills speakers as well as stage wedges, drum fills, etc.
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The visible PA as the main left and right were two Contour CT212s mounted on either side with their dedicated wall bracket. The Contour CT212s consist of two 12-inch drivers with a mid-high coaxial compression driver. This constant directivity, horn-loaded loudspeaker has a max SPL of 145 dB with 3-way crossover resulting in a pronounced and powerful, controlled sound, which is capable of high SPL and a longer throw. Four CSUB610s were placed in front of the stage and five SUB2112s were flown by truss providing impactful lower frequency needed for the venue. The SUB2112 is a bi-amped sub consisting of one 21-inch driver and two 12-inches, so it is deep yet has punchy upper bass as well.
For the mezzanine two more CT212s were flown per side. The smaller speaker in the series, the Contour CT28 was mounted for the third balcony level coverage from the truss as well as the catwalk. For the under balcony fills, ten of 1 SOUND’s brand new Level L38 loudspeakers were flush mounted to the ceiling standing only 8 inches off of the ceiling. The Level L38 is a passive cardioid point source with a progressive horn.
"The clarity and coverage provided by the 1 SOUND system is astounding," said Richards. “With the completed 1 SOUND system, we have even coverage with + or - 2 dB in every seat of the house. Which is huge. It means we are even above industry standard specs! I used to have a huge plug-in chain and now I’m down to an EQ and a compressor. The processing just isn’t needed! The Contour boxes just sound good with a microphone on it.”
As for the sound on stage, The Vine marks the first theater to have 1 SOUND’s new cardioid concert monitor, the CM38. The CM38s stand only 8 inches off the floor and have a progressive horn design which focuses the energy farther back while progressively narrowing the dispersion, giving these monitors more control.
“The standard comment I get when a guest engineer walks into front of house, they say ‘Is that all the PA I have?’ Because all you see is two boxes mounted on the wall and I say turn it on and listen. When they leave, they always ask ‘Do you have any more information on this that I can get?’ I have only impressed people with this new system. I am so happy with this system,” concluded Richards.
