The theatre had already been using Marquee Audio to provide ancillary equipment - such as mics and stands - when the contract went out to tender. And of the three companies who submitted quotes, Marquee Audio came out on top. "They offered the best package, and best service," said senior sound technician, Philip Hoegger. "We went on past experience, price and service, and throughout the install period Marquee were extremely helpful and responsive. "Having considered various sound systems, we knew we wanted Nexo."
With lighting fighting audio for the lion’s share of the budget, Hoegger had to drop his original aspirations for a centre cluster, but was delighted that Marquee could stretch the budget to accommodate four PS-15’s, one pair flown either side of the pros arch, and the other ground-stacked on top of the LS-1200’s, left and right of the stage. The system is tuned using the PS-15 controller. Joining the existing Crown power station, an MA-2400 was also purchased form Marquee to drive the new sub, and equalisation was provided in the form of an FCS-966 Constant-Q and Klark Teknik DN-360 dual band graphics.
Philip Hoegger said that the new system had to be multi-purpose, but in particular offer good speech intelligibilty. "This has replaced a fairly basic system and this has given us greater volume and more flexibility. However, for rock ’n’ roll shows we would still hire in a system," he declared. He says the Wilde Theatre is in use for 360 days a year. "For that kind of duty we needed a reliable sound system, and thanks to Marquee we now have one."
(Lee Baldock)
