K1 arrives in the UAE
Published: MEA
UAE: Delta Sound has become the first rental company in the Middle East to purchase an L-Acoustics K1 system. The purchase has taken a long time in the planning, but the new system has now arrived at Delta’s Dubai warehouse ahead of field testing and its first full use for the Yasalam Formula 1 concerts in Abu Dhabi.
‘The reason for getting into K1 for us and our profile is it fits perfectly,’ commented Delta Sound managing director Andy Jackson. ‘It’s a natural progression with our relationships both with the UK and with L-Acoustics. We used the system two years ago at Yasalam – we had it on a three month rental. We know the product, we know it works extremely well and it gives us an edge over here that nobody else will have.’
This is a vital part of the deal as the MD points out that the purchase has been made to service the local market. ‘We bought the system to stay in the UAE, it’s not going to be a system that we ship backwards and forwards to the UK. It’s here for the local production companies and promoters to make use of,’ said Mr Jackson.
Mr Jackson describes the investment as ‘a big decision’ for the rental house, but is also keen to stress the importance for the manufacturer too. ‘It’s a big decision for L-Acoustics as well because they don’t flood the market with their product. We’ve sat down with them and we’ve come up with the right kind of partnership that I think will work,’ he explained. ‘We’re very excited about getting on board straight away.’
Despite Delta adding K1 and Kara to its inventory, it will still keep its stock of V-Dosc and Kudo cabinets. ‘We talked about maybe moving the V-Dosc on but we have decided to keep the K1 and the V-Dosc. We think there is enough work for both and it means that we can either do two arena systems or one very large system,’ explained Mr Jackson. ‘We set a precedent two years ago with Yas and you can’t really go back. Everyone has had to increase their inventories just to fulfil the RFPs. We are into large scale systems that are upwards of 60 to 70 high-end boxes – you wouldn’t have got that four or five years ago, you’d have a 32-box system and that would be it. Now people expect it. The engineers, the incoming acts, they want to see the PA designs before they come out.
‘I think that there are enough big enough shows to warrant using all of it,’ concluded Mr Jackson. ‘I think we will use both systems, be that independently, together or mixed. It will be phenomenal to hear the combined system.’