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Long before the advent of the loudspeaker, music lovers have struggled with the sound in the Royal Albert Hall (RAH); the addition of sound diffusing flying saucers to the cupola in 1969 was welcomed, but realistically the RAH is a bit of a mongrel amongst the thoroughbred orchestral halls of the world. Forthepurposesofsoundreinforcementit’sbeenanevenharderbattle;nosuchsciencefictionsolutionexistedandanalreadyproblematicacousticenvironmentonlybecameworsewhenexcitedbyhighsoundpressurelevels.“Thatwasuntilnow,”saidLiamHalpin,SystemDesignerforEntecSoundandLightwhohaveservicedtheTeenageCancerTrust(TCT)eventsinceinception.Thisisthe15thanniversaryyearoftheTCTconcertsandHalpinhasdesignedforsixofthem.HeknowstheRAHmoreintimatelythanmany,andtothestaffattheRAHhisfaceisalmostasfamiliarasSirMalcolmSergeant’s.Sowhathaschanged? “Onthefaceofit,twothings,”saidEntec’sHeadofSoundMark‘Magic’Ellis-Cope.“Entec

hasnowcompletedtheconstructionofasolid,robustdigitalreturnsplatformthatwillseeusthroughthenext10yearsandmakeuscapableofservicinganyshow,evenbeyondstadiumscale.Andsecondly,wehavejustimplementedanewpieceofsoftwarefromd&baudiotechnikcalledArrayProcessing(AP).PartoftheArrayCalcsystemdesignpackage,APisatoolthataddressesmost,ifnotall,theelectroacousticshortcomingsoftheRAH.”Ambitiousthen?“Liamsaidtome,‘ifyoudon’tpush,youdon’tprogress.’” ThedigitalplatformissomethingEntecandHalpinhadbeenconsideringforsevenyears.“Infactwhenitcametoit-andTCTisthefirsttimewe’veuseditonthisscale-theassemblageoftechnologyandsoftwareprovedmountainous,”saidEllis-Cope.“SomuchsothatIhadlittleornotimeforArrayProcessing,”addedHalpin.“Fortunately,andtypicalofd&b,wedidn’tneedtoworry.Putitthisway,weloadedinonthedayofthefirstshowandwereimmediatelyconfrontedwithsignificantriggingdelaysoutsideofourcontrol.Withnotimetomess

aroundwithtuningthesystem,IloadedtheAPsettingsandtimealignmentfromArrayCalcintotheamplifiersandhandedthesystemover.TheprocessingimmediatelygaveusthecleanestsoundI’veeverhadintheAlbertHall.ButthenI’vefoundI’vealwaysbeenabletotrustwhatcomesoutofd&b;iftheysayitdoessomething,thenthat’sexactlywhatitdoes.It’sbeenlikethatsinceIfirstencounteredtheirsystemsbackin1996.”

DIGITALContinuedElis-Cope:“Welookedatallthedifferentformatsovertime.Inthoseearlydaysthereweresomany:Dante,CobraNet,MADI;LiamsatbackandwatchedandafteratimeitbecameapparentthatDantewasthemostlikelycandidateforEntecbecauseit’snotjustpointtopoint.Historycarriedthatconviction;Dantenowhassomethinglike180licenses.Ithaswonthenetworkedaudioformatwarsinouropinion.Theotherfactoristhereisnoneedfordedicatedhardware;everythingyouneedforDanteisreadilyavailableanywhere

ENTEC AND D&B AUDIOTECHNIK TAME THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL’S NOTORIOUSLY TROUBLESOME ACOUSTICS FOR THE TEENAGE CANCER TRUST’S 15TH EVENT

TEENAGE CANCER TRUST 2015

EVENT FOCUS: Teenage Cancer Trust

in the world.” Entec decided to go down the Cisco route in terms of hardware: “No one can say Entec have cut corners on their commitment to that quality technology ethos.” “On that score,” commented Halpin, “and in exploring some of the more high level protocols we’ve adopted, I cannot say enough about the support from Kieran Walsh at Audinate. We’ve gone for what is, in networking terms, a complex internal arrangement, with the aim to make it externally simple on a day-to-day operational basis. Without revealing the core structure, the target is related to redundancy and simplicity of operation: you can plug in anything anywhere.”

PROCESSING“With regard to the d&b component, I cut my teeth here at the RAH with the C4 point source system,” said Halpin. “Since then I’ve followed every upgrade, even designing systems for this place built around the d&b Q-Series. Not everyone’s first choice for a room this size, but for Jamie Cullum absolutely perfect in its day, and we have used Q at TCT as fill for a number of years. Since somewhere around 07/08 we’ve been putting in J-Series systems for TCT and most other RAH shows. That said, I do revisit my designs for RAH every time I come, not just for TCT shows. And year on year I make changes, not drastic ones, but things can always evolve. Even simple things like cable management, that allows easy raising and lowering of systems, yet keeps cables tidy. Don’t forget this is not a simple left/right

mains venue; the RAH demands a distributed system approach. For the fifteenth anniversary I have J-Series left/right for mains, V-Series to the sides, and a small line array of Y-Series for back firing 270 degrees. “I have redrawn the building to a minimum 20cm accuracy for the purposes of implementing AP, and the benefit within the ArrayCalc model is reflected in the result this year. I have also built in various system design options for different performance types; three alternative side hangs, two mains deployments, and three options for backfills onto the choir. I’ve looked at every d&b loudspeaker in the catalogue, even T-Series, to ensure the best selection of system for the job.” “The biggest issue is common to all line arrays to some degree: it’s the low/mid rumble. You already have that coming from the equipment on stage; ArrayProcessing can’t help you there, but the characteristic low/mid lobe’ing you get in the first 20 metres of throw is now gone thanks to AP and that helps a lot. Overall we have better consistency of level and frequency over distance around the entire room.” Steve Jones, d&b Education and Application Support also attested to this, “Listening to Van Morrison live at TCT I thought, ‘it feels like the PA is not fighting the room,’ and it’s a room I know well. Even up in the gallery, back near the amp room behind the PA, with no loudspeakers pointing at you, the sound from the room was lovely. To me ArrayProcessing improves the relationship between the system and the room.”

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EVENT FOCUS: Teenage Cancer Trust

Opposite: One of the FOH consoles used this year at Teenage Cancer Trust 2015, DiGiCo SD7. Below: Johnny Marr performing on the 5th day of the event.

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EVENT FOCUS: Teenage Cancer Trust

Below: Liam Halpin, Entec System Designer; The d&b audiotechnik J and V-Series system hangs above Johnny Marr’s performance.

“Classicissueswithlinearraysinvolvethelow/midsoverdistancewhicharedictatedbythegeometryofthearray,”Halpinsaid.“Youcan’tbeatphysics.Typicallyit’sniceandwarmsoundingatthefrontbutgenerallyonceyougetbehindthemixposition,itstartstogetalittlemuddy.FurtherouttheHFnaturallythinsout.Here’sthething:asaby-productofusingAPyounowhavethebasicrulesoflinearrayandhorizontalpatterncontrolextendeddowntosomewherebetween200-300Hz.Oneoftheotheradvantageshereiswenowdon’tgetlow/midswellingupintotheroofspace,asTheWho’ssoundengineer,RobCollins,noted.Ultimately,youcanavoidmostreflectionsfromupthere,andnowwhatisreflectedisalotcleanersoit’slessofanissue. “TheworkflowwithAPisalsoveryquick.IwasinvitedbyEntectoaso-calledpow-wowinStuttgart;ad&bprevieweventwhereIlearnedaboutAPforthefirsttime.AssoonasIheardthetheoreticalbasisoftheidea,that

explanationwasenoughforme.Itrustd&bthatmuch.ItwasalsonicetoseetheenthusiasmfromthemwhenItoldthemEntecwantedtouseithereattheRAH.Theyknowthevenueofcourse,andknowitsdifficulties,buttheystillsaid,‘ofcourseyoumustdoit.’” KevinSmith,EntecCrewChiefsaid:“ThisismyfifthTCT.IdosomeFOHengineering:TheView,EnterShikari,butthesedaysIcrewchiefforEntecandalsodoalotofsystemtechwork;itkeepstheincomesteady,butIstillliketodotheoddFOHandmonitorgig.ForthelastfewyearsofTCT,withLiamassystemdesigner,thedesignofthehangsintermsoflocationandlengthhasstayedprettysimilar.What’snewthisyearistheY-SerieslinearrayreplacingtheC4’sweusedtouseforthe270degreecoveragetothebacksides.ApartfromJandV-Seriesforthemainsystem,wehaveE8’sforfrontfillwithaY10satonaY-SUBtothesideofstage.TherearesixflownJ-SUBsoncentreandfourB2-SUBsunderthestage,justtopulldownthelowenda

bit.Wedohavetobecarefulwiththelowendasyoucanexcitetheorganpipesattherear,somostenergycomesfromthecardioidJ-SUBs.ThereisalsoQ-Serieshungfortherearchoirstalls.” DaveRoden-FOHengineerforTheStereophonics-tookoverthesystemintheearlyafternoononthedayofthefirstshow.DidAPmakeadifference?“Wedidn’tevenhavethetimetothinkaboutitthen,”commentedSmith,“butassoonasIgotthechancetowalkaroundthebuildingwhatInoticedimmediatelywastheconsistency,itwassomuchmoreeveninthestalls.Theotherthingisvocalclarity,whichcanbehardinhere,butitwasexcellent.ThedifferencewithAPiscertainlydiscernibleforspeech;weusedtothinkitwasgoodinpreviousyears,butthecomedynighttheothereveningwaswhenInoticedhowit(thevocals)jumpsoutatyouevenmore,especiallyupintheGods.”

“WatchingLiamimplementAPonthesystem

I thought it very straightforward, but then that’s part and parcel of what d&b do. Over these first few days of TCT Liam has tried subtly different settings to the point where I think he now has filled all nine personalised preset options you can create within AP. It’s been interesting to see how visiting engineers react. Of course they all want to hear it, and all ask to A/B a preset against a bypass of AP. All have opted for AP. “As a user and system tech myself I don’t see the requirement for 20cm accuracy on the ArrayCalc model as a problem; most CAD drawings we get are at least that accurate, and laser measurers even more so. This room might be a bit complicated, but you could shoot an arena easily. As for Entec’s digital returns system, this gives us the option to patch anywhere; we hardly have to think about it. What I like is that you can use local power wherever you place a RedNet rack in the system, so for big arenas, stadiums and open fields with lots of delays it’s easy, just Cat5 local power and you’re done.” Entec’s Head of Sound, Dick Hayes, undertook the 15th TCT as his final project before retiring. He oversaw the night, and said: “I went to TCT on the night The Who played and had a good walk around. Although you can’t really intrude on people in the boxes you can still poke your head out into that listening area between the boxes at each level and what I heard was a heck of a lot smoother on the tonal side. Does it benefit the punter? I certainly think so in a room like the RAH, which is devilishly difficult to cover. “When we put a d&b C4 system in the RAH for the first TCT you’d think after the first day, ‘let’s address that audience area by changing this next time we come in’. But what you learn is that as you make it better in one place, then you shift that compromise around the room. The advent of J-Series made life much sweeter, even more so when the V-Series became available. But now, fifteen years later, in terms of improving sound across all areas without pushing the problem somewhere else, I think Liam and ArrayProcessing has got it pretty damn close. I raise a glass to them!”

George Breaker is Entec’s FOH babysitter: “It’s one of my normal roles, the other is system tech, usually for Meyer Sound and sometimes Martin Audio systems. I do a lot of comedy tours as house engineer and took that role for the TCT Comedy Night this year. I rather fell into comedy from working in the George Glossop school of mixing. This is my first TCT, though of course I know the venue well enough. As for the benefits of AP, I didn’t notice it at first, but when I came to operate on Comedy Night I found there was loads of gain before feedback, and then when I came to listen to some A/B comparisons there was a marked difference in the vocal range. That’s what you look for in comedy, if the PA feels distant then the intimacy of the event gets lost. It’s a distance perception and AP brings the voice to you without loads of extra loudspeakers. For me this is all part of the advances that many loudspeaker manufacturers are making, giving us products we can predict.”

FOH SOUNDThe supplied consoles this year were a Midas PRO1 for the comperes and a choice of DiGiCo SD7 or Midas H3000 to suit the artists / visiting engineer specifications, bot at FOH. Some productions also brought in their complete touring control systems. Onstage, a Midas PRO2c was specified for its small, neat footprint, as well as the convenience of being able to fit in around some substantial incoming guest set-ups for monitors. The Entec ‘house’ monitor system was a standard RAH designed set-up with d&b C7 side fills, Shure PSM 1000 IEMs, and Shure UHF-R series radio microphones. All the radio channels and frequencies were co-ordinated using Shure’s Wireless Workbench software. In conjunction with FX Rentals, Entec supplied a record system based around a 96-channel D-Show Venue console which was running MADI to two ProTools set ups. This year they chose the MADI system in line with some of the incoming artists.TPi

www.teenagecancertrust.orgwww.entec-soundandlight.com

www.dbaudio.com

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EVENT FOCUS: Teenage Cancer Trust

Below: Paul Weller performed during the Teenage Cancer Trust’s 15th event.