Speaking from the recent Boxford Masques 2014 event that took place against the backdrop of Welford Park, Hampshire, Dominic Blinston, director and Jon Wiles, project manager of LTN Productions discuss their recent investment in Inspired Audio Optima 5.
Blinston explains: "JP [Cavaco, sales manager at LMC Audio] got in contact with us at a time when I was looking for a larger system. We had looked at various systems but many were outside of our budget. It was great timing on JP's part that he called up on a day when I was having a moan about the cost of systems! He put us in touch with Chris Scott of Inspired Audio who we then went up to see and listen to an Optima 5 system with. Our first thoughts were, it fits the bill and it does what we want it to do. Since owning it we've realised that it's capable of doing even more than we actually first thought it was."
Chris Scott, design director at Inspired Audio, adds, "Everyone's always surprised by how much Optima 5 can do - people's expectations are always exceeded."
The system that LTN Productions have invested in includes eight Optima 5 compact line array enclosures, two Optima B210 ultra-compact bass enclosures, two reFlex B215 compact bass enclosures and three eFlex Q5 power amplifiers.
Blinston observes, "Speakers are getting smaller and smaller nowadays and Optima 5 is certainly a very compact offering, yet over the last couple of days here at Boxford Masques, an outdoor theatre event, where the system is not even at full tilt, the sound we're getting out of it really is amazing. You stand back and think, 'wow, that's really packing a punch.' Considering this is an outdoor event, we didn't know what to expect when it gets windy, yet so far it hasn't really bothered the system."
He continues, "We're really pleased with the Optima 5 system; it has truly exceeded our expectations of it. This is actually quite a tricky show for Jon to mix due to the sheer amount of one-liners - the first page is 13 lines, each line spoken by a different person - but due to the versatility and usability of the system there is minimal EQ to sort out and Jon can get on and concentrate on the mix". Wiles comments, "As a result of the system's ease of use, I've been able to concentrate on the show, rather than worry about dozens of different EQ settings, it's a pleasure to work with."
Commenting on the service received from the LMC team in London, Blinston says, "The service we received from JP and LMC has been the clincher really. The support from LMC has been a huge help in general actually, right from the word go. It put us at ease and we probably can't praise LMC enough for a) finding the right system for us and b) for supporting us - it's a major boost."
(Jim Evans)
