The installation was part of a complete refurbishment of the facilities at Tearfund's four-storey Teddington headquarters. According to Tearfund's facilities manager Mike Webb it was important that the system be powerful, versatile and discreet as the room is used for a variety of applications, including live music. SA Sound Services' Steve Ashley explained why he opted for EV Xi 1082s, which are designed as under-balcony fills. "Given that the system had to handle more than just speech reinforcement, I was looking for a professional speaker that would both look and sound good, but would be discreet enough for a corporate environment," he said. "Duncan Marlow from Phoenix Sound Works in Northampton suggested (and ultimately supplied) the Xi 1082s. They are absolutely perfect for the job. They are extremely low profile, so we've treated the ceiling as our balcony and attached them in a row across the front of the stage. Furthermore, Shuttlesound was extremely helpful in spraying them white for us, so they met all our criteria."
In addition to the sound reinforcement system, the installation includes two 42-inch plasma screens either side of the stage and two 15-inch flat monitors on pillars towards the rear of the room where sight-lines are restricted. There are also remote operated video screens concealed in the ceiling in front of the plasma screens for projection purposes, plus a vision mixer and preview monitor.
(Lee Baldock)
