Sydney Theatre Company upgrades with Nexo
Published: ASIA
AUSTRALIA: Wharf 2, one of Sydney Theatre Company’s three theatres, has been upgraded by Group Technologies following the installation of a Nexo PS15R2 system at its Sydney Theatre venue. Wharf 2, a ‘black box’ space seating up to 200 people, hosts drama productions, play readings, writers’ forums and live broadcasts.
‘With STC reaching the 30-year mark, we found a lot of equipment was not as efficient as it could be,’ said Ben Lightowlers, Sydney Theatre Company's head of sound. ‘We decided to upgrade our systems while supporting STC’s commitment to its sustainability programme, Greening The Wharf. With Nexo’s NXAMP4X4 system processor/amplifiers only drawing 150W at idle they are considered a good choice when considering energy efficiency.
‘I consulted our regular sound designers and found a common request for a centre channel because Wharf 2 is quite a wide theatre in relation to the seating bank,’ he continued. ‘On top of this, a major architectural beam obstructs the last two rows of seats so sound designers would often add a set of delay speakers. Naturally rear surrounds were needed, together with a serious sub. I commissioned a PS15 R2 left centre right system, two PS 8s for delays and two for surrounds, plus an RS18 sub.’
Other challenges included eliminating fan noise in the bio box. ‘We took advantage of an upstage crossover mezzanine position that had become available due to the relocation of the lighting dimmer room,’ said Mr Lightowlers. ‘This would effectively reduce the ambient noise for the operators in the bio box, but we had to redirect the entire speaker cabling for the venue. The upside is we now have a fully re-commissioned venue and peace of mind that all the speaker, signal, power and data runs are fully isolated and protected with conduit ducting.
‘I also enlisted Bass Electrical to install dedicated audio power points around Wharf 2 and to furnish the venue with a 120KVA 3phase UPS which allows us to run off the grid for 13 minutes at full tilt, or as much as eight hours with no load.
‘Wharf 2 has benefited from a total overhaul thanks to improvements to the signal patching, speaker patch points, upgraded data distribution, the addition of Coda Audio's famous isolated splitter/distribution system and a killer Nexo PA upgrade to top it all off,’ he enthused.
The first company to work in Wharf 2 after the upgrade was Belgium's Ontroerend Goed with its production, A History of Everything. ‘This company has a track record of running Wharf 2's system to the limit; they blew one of the FOH speakers during their last visit,’ said Mr Lightowlers. ‘This time they didn't even touch the sides.’