USA - As Brevard County's premier performing arts venue, the Maxwell C. King Center has served the community for 37 years, hosting everything from Broadway tours to rock icons. Located in Central Florida, the King Center in Melbourne is the only venue within over 50 miles equipped to accommodate national touring productions, making it an essential cultural hub for the region.
The heart of the multi-venue facility, the 2,016-seat L3 Harris Technologies Theatre, is an acoustically live space with a wide fan shape and a spacious mezzanine level, designed to host a wide variety of events. By 2024, the previous JBL Professional sound system, now 20 years old, had served its time. Recognising the need to stay ahead in delivering unparalleled experiences for audiences, the decision was made to upgrade the sound system.
The variety of events, including Broadway shows, rock concerts, ballets, and more, demands a system capable of delivering pristine sound for anything. The King Center turned to trusted partner APAV Solutions for the upgrade. This three-year project, overseen by Rob Adams, director of facilities, and the venue's dedicated technicians, including Ed Guilbeau, house audio technician, involved upgrading amplifiers and engineering a new steel beam to support the load of the JBL VTX Series loudspeakers. Their tireless efforts ensured the installation met the venue's exacting standards for excellence.
Craig Beyrooti, CEO of APAV Solutions, led the design process. “I designed the system in JBL’s Venue Synthesis software only a few days after it had come out. I added a few boxes more than had been in the previous system, just for coverage, not power. There’s way enough power there,” Beyrooti explains.
“Then, of course, I spoke with the team at JBL Professional, had them review the design, and we did a little more tweaking. For instance, we ended up flying some subs in the centre.” The project benefited from the collaborative approach. “APAV was great to work with. It was a group effort, and we were able to work through each idea for the best solution all around,” Guilbeau comments.
The main system consists of two flown arrays, each constituted of eight VTX A12 Dual 12-inch Line Array Loudspeakers and two VTX A12W 120-Degree Dispersion Dual 12-inch Line Array Loudspeakers. Six VTX B28 Arrayable Dual-18-inch Subwoofers are flown in a centre array that has two cabinets reversed in order to produce a cardioid dispersion pattern. The system is powered by 28 Crown I-Tech 12000HD amplifiers, plus four Crown I-Tech 4x3500HD amps. The addition of more high-power amplifiers necessitated adding some capacity to the electrical service.
The installation process was collaborative and smooth, though not without its challenges. “The theatre has a full orchestra shell made of metal, and the whole space is designed to reinforce acoustical sound coming out of the shell,” Beyrooti notes. “With the last system, I moved the speakers further on stage and away from the corner where there would be really horrible reflections. This time, I had them move the speakers a bit further in and remove two of the reflector panels that were directly above the arrays to avoid a bounce from above.”
The width of the room had previously been addressed by situating three VTX A8 Dual 8-inch Compact Line Array Loudspeakers with 110º Dispersion stacked on top of a B18 Arrayable Single 18-inch Subwoofer on each side of the stage. The addition of the VTX A12W cabinets provided much greater wide coverage than had been previously delivered, but the A8 cabinets were kept to ensure the best possible coverage out to the sides.
Beyrooti received more support from JBL Professional to get the new system properly tuned, in the form of applications engineer Raul Gonzalez, who had helped Beyrooti tune the last system he’d installed years before and now rejoined Beyrooti to finalise the upgrade installation.
With the upgrade complete, the King Center is ready to deliver ‘an unmatched audio experience’ for its audiences. “It's all about coverage here, and this system just nails it down,” Guilbeau sates.
