Castle Jail required an interactive audio-visual system, utilizing multiple projection, audio sources, all within definable as well as combinable zones, to be purpose-designed and built together with a specially programmed computer system for overall control. FT-AV's owner and MD Rick Lawson maintains that "the real challenge was the acoustic anomalies of the Victorian building, which is necessarily a very stark and austere environment. It was obvious that whatever loudspeaker enclosures we could use would have to be reasonably compact, aesthetically appealing, but, most important of all, they would have to provide exceptional speech intelligibility. Similarly, all mountings, fixings and bracketry would have to be extremely versatile, given the number of unusual fixing situations."
After several tests, Lawson chose to spec Vieta's DO-5 full-range cabinets for the simple reason that "they were significantly more intelligible and coherent in their dispersion than other branded boxes at a similar price point. In my opinion, they are the most installation-friendly and aesthetically pleasing loudspeakers at this level on the market." The Vieta DO-5 is a two-way passive bass-reflex speaker designed for sound processing in situations which require high quality sound and exceptional clarity in small spaces. Its 60 x 60° dispersion allowed the installers to direct sound away from areas which would cause reverberation problems, such as high ceilings and thick stone walls.
The whole system is controlled by a specific piece of software called Showmagic that was designed to help automate and cue large-format theatrical shows. Amplification is all from Crest CPX units, and Lawson insists that absolutely no EQ has been utilized; the system's emphasis is on a securely balanced sound, amply delivered by the Vieta DO speakers.Lawson continues: "there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the audio quality of this system has played a big part in securing further work for FT-AV both with this client and other customers. When it comes to applications with high quality expectations like this, I won't hesitate to utilize Vieta again."
(Lee Baldock)
