Eugene, OR (April 3, 2023)—Choosing a new P.A. is never a simple process. Some venues might have a shootout, while others might try a system for a few events to see how it all works together. In the case of the eye-popping Silva Concert Hall of the Hult Center for the Performing Arts and its new Meyer Sound Leopard compact line array system, the process took, well, nearly eight years of regular visits on a rental basis.
The rental system was provided by locally based George Relles Sound, Inc., with Relles returning earlier this year as the integrator for the now permanent installation of Leopard boxes. The new resident system made its debut in the 2,447-seat venue with a performance of Missa Gaia (Earth Mass) by the Eugene Concert Choir with composer Paul Winter as the featured soloist. One week later, the system supplied sound for a showing of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, with a live performance of the John Williams score by the Eugene Symphony.
“Everything is going great with our new system,” says Hult Center general manager Jeff Weinkauf, “but of course, that is hardly a surprise. I’ve heard it many times over the years, and I’m always blown away by the clarity, depth, and consistency. George [Relles] said several times—somewhat jokingly—that we might as well buy one of our own. Finally, we were able to make that happen.”
The installed system comprises main left and right hangs of 14-each Leopard compact line array loudspeakers, one more than with the typical rental system. A trio of Ultra-X40 compact loudspeakers are installed as balcony delays. “For most shows, the delays aren’t critical because the Leopards cover the balcony very well,” notes Relles, “but if there’s a lot of level coming off the stage from a loud band, and it’s exciting the room, the delays will help boost the clarity up there.”
The top 12 Leopard loudspeakers are the M80 variant, with the narrower 80-degree horizontal pattern limiting reflections off the side walls. The bottom two loudspeakers employ the standard 110-degree waveguide. Front fills are six Ultra-X20 compact wide-coverage loudspeakers, and deep bass is propelled by three-per-side gradient cardioid arrays of 1100-LFC low-frequency control elements.
Meyer Sound 2100-LFC — Product of the Week
Relles’ long experience with Leopard arrays in the room made system tuning a snap. “One TruShaping filter and a couple of parametrics with just a few dB was all it took,” he recalls. “Since I already had the Compass files from previous visits, I basically had the system ready in less than 15 minutes.”
The system upgrade also included MJF-208 and MJF-210 stage monitors, with more of each model on order.
