The space's brief existence as LiFE Nightclub tested a distributed, million-box solution, and the results were not good. SLS hired JR Sound Company to design a system that would place the Foundry demonstrably above Las Vegas' burgeoning contemporary (i.e. not nostalgic) concert scene. Their forward-thinking plan deftly sidestepped repeated appeals from promoters and industry insiders to go with a line-array solution. Instead, point source Danley SH-96HO mains, SH-95HO & SH-95 fills, SM-80 on-stage monitors, and TH-118 subwoofers "bathe the Foundry in coherent, undistorted, lusciously transparent audio at sound pressure levels to silence all sceptics".
"We're both from Chicago originally (we moved to Las Vegas a decade ago) and we've been longtime fans of Tom Danley and Doug Jones," said James Rush, co-owner of JR Sound Company, speaking on behalf of himself and the company's other co-owner, Mark Dudzik. "I think it's great that they're now on the same team in Danley Sound Labs. Anyway, we were working as SLS's sole audio provider for over a year when they approached us about converting LiFE Nightclub into an awesome modern concert venue. Although we mainly do design and consulting these days, Mark and I are both live sound engineers by training and passion, and so we were excited to take on the project and to do it right."
Dudzik joined, "There was a lot of pressure to go with a line array system, if for no other reason than that everyone knows what they're getting. That, and the fact that riders will be satisfied if they can check off 'line array.' But we had already had a lot of experience with Danley's point source systems, and we knew they sound way better than even the best, most-expensive line arrays. We took the stance that, as engineers, we would much rather mix on a Danley system. To prove our point, we arranged a shootout between our company's Danley SH-96s and the leading line array choices. Hearing is believing, and SLS had the confidence to move forward with the obviously better sound of a Danley system. As for riders, the venue says, in effect, 'if all you need is a line array, we've got you more than covered with our point source system.'
The system Rush and Dudzik designed consists of two Danley SH-96HOs for main stereo coverage. They have 90-degree dispersion with complete phase coherence within that band and thus deliver even coverage and stunning spatial imaging to the majority of listeners. The room fairly breathes with stereo depth and dynamics. Two smaller Danley SH-95HOs provide out-fill to cover the flanking bars on either side of the stage. Four Danley SH-95s provide front-fill. The "HO" variants deliver greater high-frequency headroom where it's needed.
Two new Midas M32 consoles (one for FOH and one for monitors) with a Midas DL32 stage box form the interface for the sounds picked up by a new Shure live microphone package. Output from the Midas system feeds a Danley DNA SC48 DSP unit via a 96kHz Dante network with backup analogue outputs for the mains, fills and subs. A beefy rack of Danley DNA 20k4 Pro and DNA 10k4 Pro amplifiers power the complete system at four channels per unit. Onboard DSP on a subset of the amps provides loudspeaker conditioning for the monitor system.
"The Danley loudspeakers and subs have a vastly smaller footprint that a comparable-output line array, and that's a little off-putting to engineers who haven't worked with a Danley point source system before," said Dudzik. "But then we fire it up and push it to 120dB easily with no distortion. They're always amazed. You just don't know that high volume live sound can sound so fantastic until you've experienced it. That said, we still have tons of headroom beyond. No one will come close to hitting the limits of this system."
(Jim Evans)
