vento Totales and FrancoSound (owned and operated by Jader Montoya and Amilkar Franco respectively) are two well-known sound companies in the Colombian professional audio sector. Both firms service the live sound/pro touring market and also operate equipment rental divisions. Together, they pooled their talent and resources to assemble a high performance sound system that made this year's event among the most memorable in recent history.
Amilkar Franco - with assistance from associate Reynaldo Flores - oversaw the selection and installation of the equipment for this year's event and also handled various sound engineering responsibilities. The D.A.S. Audio loudspeaker system they designed consisted of 46 Aero 12A self-powered, 2-way, mid-high line array elements, 12 LX-218A powered high performance subwoofers featuring dual 18-inch long excursion transducers, and eight Aero 50 3-way, large format line array modules.
For Pentecostes 2010, the main PA system included 12 D.A.S. Audio Aero 12A's per side in a left-right configuration, flown at a height of 8m. Additionally, the left and right delay towers each consisted of eight Aero 12A's while four D.A.S. Aero 50 enclosures were ground stacked on each platform at the North and South extremes. For on-stage side-fills, the sound setup included six Aero 12A line array modules -flown in two groups of three each at the sides of the stage area. D.A.S. Audio LX-218 subwoofers provided plenty of low end punch for this massive loudspeaker system. The LX-218A's were arranged six units wide and two units high across the front of the stage area.
Amilkar Franco comments, "Outdoor sound is always difficult because interference from traffic and other nearby sources interferes with the PA - so it's extremely important that the sound system has ample power and that the loudspeakers enable you to accurately control the dispersion of the system. The D.A.S. Audio Aero 12A's and 50's have broad horizontal dispersion and long throw, so we were able to very effectively provide even, controlled coverage throughout the area. There wasn't a single zone where you couldn't hear clearly."
(Jim Evans)
