It was decided that they needed a new loudspeaker system to take the venue's bookings and offerings into the next level. The previous system was locally designed and built and had been the in-house system since the venue opened in 1995. When the time came to upgrade, venue sound technician and long-time fan of d&b audiotechnik systems, Ben Thompson contacted Simon Moran of Optim Audio who ultimately installed the new system.
Three clusters arranged in a left, centre and right configuration make up the main system. Each of these clusters consists of one Ci60 and one Ci90 loudspeaker arrayed in a vertical setup. d&b audiotechnik loudspeakers are also installed in delay positions with E3s in the upper balcony, E0s covering under the balcony delays and further E0s employed as front fills. Rounding out the low end are d&b Ci7-SUBs. The whole system is driven by d&b E-PAC amplifiers while system control and monitoring are accomplished via the d&b Remote network. A bespoke application for the R1 Remote control software was created jointly by Stefan Goetz from d&b's Education and Applications Support team in Germany and Shane Bailey from National Audio Systems, the d&b Distributor for Australia and New Zealand.
Ben Thomson takes up the story: "I believe the Frankston Arts Centre now has one of the best sound systems available and is the first proscenium arch theatre to install a d&b system in Australia. Since installation, we have received outstanding feedback by providing this world-class, quality sound system. Not only does the d&b system improve the sound of performances coming into the Centre (e.g. Adam Brand & John Stevens, David Hobson) but it also provides unique opportunities for community groups to access a state of the art sound system."
(Lee Baldock)
