Last year, production sound provider ATK standardised exclusively on the Powersoft DIGAM K10.
Brett Valasek, general manager, ATK Audiotek reports, "The Powersoft K10 amps have definitely made everything more efficient for us, from inventory management to trucking to system management and power management. Standardising on the K10 has overall been a very efficient way of managing inventory from start to finish, on all projects, from the Super Bowl to the Grammys to the Academy Awards."
At just 26.5 pounds in weight, the single rack space K10 amplifier operates with 90 percent efficiency, offering ATK significant savings in both space and power. "It has helped in the amount of truck space required compared to our old amp packages, and it has definitely helped in the amount of power I need to have supplied for the power distros," says Valasek.
ATK, which has been handling the Super Bowl entertainment segments for many years, has traditionally configured the main PA system on a series of carts for rapid deployment onto the field at halftime. This year the rig comprised 18 carts, each loaded with four JBL VerTec VT4889 cabinets, 16 of which also included a pair of VerTec VT4880A subwoofers. Eighty-four Powersoft K10 amplifiers located around the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis provided power, with an additional 18 K10s driving Madonna's onstage monitor system.
"We had four amp positions underneath the bleachers," explained Kirk Powell, system design engineer, ATK. "Because of the limited amount of room on the sidelines at Super Bowl, the less space we take up, obviously, the better off we are. Being able to cut our amplifier space needs down by at least 50 percent was a huge help for us."
The Grammy Awards telecast, another longstanding ATK account, required over 140 K10 amplifiers to drive the four main 12-box VerTec arrays plus subs, front-fills, delays and monitors. Although not required this year, in past years flown barges were used to position the amplifiers close to the delay speakers flown high in the roof of the Staples Centre arena in downtown Los Angeles. "Obviously there's a weight limitation, so when you go from a 60-pound amplifier to a 26-pound amplifier it makes a huge difference," notes Powell.
The Academy Awards broadcast, held in a traditional proscenium theatre - formerly known as the Kodak Theatre - in Hollywood, placed very different demands on ATK's sound system. There, 57 Powersoft K10 amplifiers supplied power to the 15-box left and right hangs of VerTec and two eight-box VerTec subwoofer clusters, as well as various models of EAW, JBL and other brand monitor, side-fill, front-fill, under-balcony and under-seat speakers. The operational versatility of the K10 was to the fore at the Oscar ceremony, as Valasek reported, "We used the K10s in a 70V application as well as passive, bi-amped, three-way and sub applications."
(Jim Evans)
