Carnegie Hall is First With Yamaha PM1D

New York City’s Carnegie Hall has become the world’s first concert hall to include a Yamaha PM1D digital mixing system, as part of a recent audio system upgrade, which also included a Myere Sound loudspeaker system. The design was completed by David Andrews of Andrews Audio, John Monitto from Meyer Sound and acoustical consultants Art-Tec, who performed extensive acoustic and RASTI measurements. The decision to purchase a large format digital front of house console came about through recommendations, and the need for future expansion. "We had an analogue board for 11 years, and it worked very well," said head of sound John Cardinale. "However, we were intrigued by the capabilities and the sound of digital consoles when they were first introduced, so we convinced management to make an investment in a quality front of house console as part of our upgrade. Our decision to go with the PM1D was based, for the most part, on an established paradigm in sound reinforcement," he continues, "and that’s the signal flow and layout of the Yamaha PM4000. The majority of the touring acts that come to Carnegie Hall specify a 4000 on their rider, and the control surface of the PM1D is very similar. We found that you can set it up to work on the surface, and don’t have to page through menus."

Carnegie Hall’s main PA consists of a centre cluster, comprised of three Meyer powered MSL4 cabinets and four CQ1 cabinets, with side stacks consisting of four MSL4 and two PSW2 cabinets. "The front-fills are UPM1Ps that lay across the stage, since there’s no way they could be installed in the fascia," Cardinale adds. "The delay lines consist of 14 Meyer UPM 1s in the balconies. "The main PA system is aligned, balanced and EQ’d with the Meyer SIM System II, which ‘proof tests’ and keep the system running. For the delay lines, we have Meyer CP10s for EQ, and an LD-1 line driving unit to balance the levels. A Meyer RMS (Remote Monitoring System) provides an amazing amount of information on the powered speakers. For instance, if a driver or amp is blown, the temperature in the box, that type of data. All the subsystems are delayed, even the cluster is delay tapered to itself. The SIM system will show interference patterns from one tier of the cluster to the next. The only difference in the system is amplitude - you really don't have to run it at a certain level to sound good. It’s a clean, linear system with a very flat response, and all in phase."

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