Jericho reinforces St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
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Until recently, spoken word for lectures and presentations was difficult to understand and sometimes came with feedback. Reinforcement for both instruments and vocalists during amplified concerts was also challenged with gain-before-feedback issues that were only partially remedied by destructive equalization. After extensive research, the SLSO found that Danley Sound Labs’ point-source technologies deliver excellent intelligibility and gain-before-feedback.
“When I first heard there was a possibility we could work with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra I was ecstatic,” stated Mike Hedden, Danley Sound Labs president and the AV veteran in charge of designing the new Powell Hall sound system. “The SLSO has won multi-Grammy awards so being included in their consideration was a huge honour in itself.
A stereo pair of 440 lb. Danley J3-94 Jericho Horns now covers most of Powell Hall’s seats. Although they’re solid down to 70 Hz, the team installed a pair of Danley TH118 subwoofers to get down another octave. Above each Jericho Horn, a Danley SH62 full-range loudspeaker covers the farthest balcony seats. Two four-channel Danley DNA 20k4 Pro amplifiers and one four-channel Danley DNA 10k4 Pro amplifier, all with integrated on-board processing and custom Danley pre-sets, power the new FOH system.
In addition to the SLSO’s events, Powell Hall hosts musical acts without the orchestra and events such as the Maryville University Speaker Series, which features luminaries such as former Presidents and astronauts. “With the new Danley system, spoken word gain-before-feedback is no longer a problem, and intelligibility is outstanding. STIPA measurements to the extreme furthest seating locations was still .7,” says the SLSO’s live sound engineer Ron Bolte.
Because the orchestra also needs to hear the spoken word and any amplified instruments, the SLSO also installed a pair of Danley SBH20 column-form point-source loudspeakers for on-stage monitoring.
(Jim Evans)
