With between one and 1.5 million visitors per year, the gardens also host a range of events, including live music and, for 10 Saturday evenings in summer, a spectacular firework display.Being situated on the edge of the Pacific Ocean, the gardens are not an acoustically friendly environment, both in terms of physical location and climate. For more than six years, Victoria's DL Sound & Lighting had used Turbosound Flashlights at the venue and this year looked at ways to further improve sound coverage and quality for the weekly firework show.
The challenges that a new system had to overcome included high humidity and direct sunlight all day, the effects of a salt atmosphere - both in terms of corrosion and the fact that it is a huge cooling force on the surrounding air - the fact that the sound had to be contained within the fireworks arena and that it had to be protected from falling pyrotechnic debris.
On top of all that, the revised audio system had to compete with - yet also complement - fireworks explosions that can register up to 108dB.
Given that range of tests, a system featuring Turbosound Aspect loudspeakers provided the perfect solution.
"The fireworks venue is 109m deep, with a secondary viewing area which is 48m by 108m. The audience is seated on the ground looking down at much of the display and looking up at airborne fireworks. It's certainly not the perfect amphitheatre!" says DL Sound & Lighting proprietor, Doug Lyngard.
Lyngard chose five Aspect TA-890H highs, complemented by two HiLight THL-828 subs and controlled by a pair of XTA DP224s. The DL Sound & Light team built enclosures to protect the loudspeakers from the daily watering of the grass viewing area, the weather and fireworks debris. The cabinets were then carefully ground stacked to provide optimum, seamless audio coverage."No speaker stands or flying gear is allowed, due to strict rules against obstructing any of the show view," says Lyngard. "So optimising the placement of the Aspect enclosures and achieving an even sound coverage was a challenge. But the sound quality and performance has proved ideal for the venue size and dynamics."
Lyngard continues: "Due to the nature of the venue - i.e. a peaceful garden atmosphere during the day - the only opportunity we had to sound check was in the early morning before visitors arrived. We had to trust that the gear would perform as expected at show time when darkness fell. When the switch was turned on, there was no turning back. But the system has performed extremely well and the client was very impressed with the improvement in sound quality from previous years."
This is endorsed by Craig Moddle of Butchart Gardens, who adds: "The tone and quality of the Aspect system are a great improvement over the previous system."
The quality and versatility of Aspect has certainly made an impression on Doug Lyngard. "I would definitely buy more Aspect cabinets, and I highly recommend them to others. Simply put, they are a smart investment," he says. "The ability to ground stack was very important, as flying was not an option. Their point and shoot benefits were ideal for this type of installation."
(Chris Henry)
