The Port Theatre, located in Nanaimo, BC, has upgraded their in-house speaker system to an Adamson SpekTrix Line Array. The interest in Adamson arose when Jim Kent, the assistant technical director and head of audio engineer for the Port Theatre, contacted Keith Vanderkley, director of North-American sales at Adamson, looking to acquire a new sound system.

With the wide variety of local and international theatrical and music performances, the technical requirements were vast. The Port Theatre seats 769 people, and can add an additional 33 skid mounted seats in the orchestra pit when it is not in use. The theatre has raked orchestra seating on two levels, and a balcony with multiple level loges wrapped around the sides.

With an adjustable proscenium opening from 42’ to 48’, and utilizing reversible reflective or absorbing wall panels to adjust its acoustics, The Port Theatre works equally well as a concert hall, theatre or rock-venue.

These varying performance requirements created a need for predictable vertical control and extended, well defined horizontal coverage. The client also expressed the need for intelligibility, musicality, and sheer power, to address speech, instrumental augmentation, and full-scale rock reinforcement. Along with the architectural guidelines, this made the Adamson SpekTrix Line Array a sure candidate for the installation.

With an initial design in hand, Bruce Halliday (Technical Director for The Port Theatre), Kent and Vanderkley worked out a plan for a demonstration of the SpekTrix Line Array to coincide with a concert featuring the band Alpha YaYa Diallo.  This would allow the SpekTrix to be evaluated under real life conditions. Around the same time LTS, an installation and production company based out of Vancouver, BC, and a new addition to the Adamson family of SpekTrix owners, was conducting a demo of a 16 box SpekTrix rig at the Festival Du Bois in Port Coquitlam, in nearby Vancouver. The Spektrix, having been subjected to some pretty heavy duty Acadian rock and roll over the three-day outdoor festival, were “nicely warmed-up” and in perfect shape for the demo at the Port, and were ferried to Vancouver Island.

The well-received demonstration resulted in kudos for the performance of SpekTrix, and an immediate order for an Adamson installation. The configuration for this acoustically elegant theatre was simple: Left and right arrays of Five SpekTrix, with 3 SpekTrix WAVEs flown as a stereo pair. The adjustable rigging frame allowed for a single point hang, and the installation went fast and flawless. One Spektrix Sub per side was needed to provide sufficient low-end. These were ground-stacked on movable dollies on each side of the stage, in order to avoid sight-line issues, while providing even coverage of the theatre space. Lab.gruppen amplifiers powered the Spektrix and Lake Contour provided processing, allowing FOH engineer Jim Kent to tune the arrays in minimal time.

“I have had an opportunity to work the SpekTrix system with a wide variety of productions and have been extremely impressed with the fidelity and dynamics of the speaker box. Being able to clearly hear 1 to 2 db adjustments on console EQ, 60 feet back has allowed me to add my art into all productions that hit our stage. I look forward to working with Keith and Adamson on the future upgrades to the Port Theatre’s system”, Kent commented.

“The SpekTrix has not only met the design criteria that Jim and I set out, but has surpassed our expectations. The evenness of dispersion and fidelity are remarkable. We’ve listened to a lot of speaker systems. Adamson stood out immediately. We are getting rave reviews from performers, engineers and audience members regularly. I could not be happier with our decision…Another Canadian company supplying the best product available… Thank you Adamson!”, Added Bruce Halliday.

The system design was executed by Vanderkley, and fine-tuned by Adamson Europe DV2’s Technical Director Didier dal Fitto. The use of the Adamson Shooter® Software allowed him to build a fast and accurate computer simulation of the venue and facilitated the sharing of the design between continents. Final tuning and testing of the installation was provided by Vanderkley and LTS Vancouver.

With the RFP submitted, LeTexier Systems of Burnaby, Vancouver, was selected as the equipment provider. “The proven ability of LTS to support The Port Theatre with supplemental Adamson and other professional audio products, as well as the technical expertise that Alan, Don and their crew, have afforded their clients, has made this company a natural selection for the Theatre” said Vanderkley of the installation. “They have serviced The Port Theatre to the end-degree and have worked with Bruce and Jim to ensure the success of this installation. I am happy to be able to have this calibre of support on the West-Coast.”

To visit the Port Theatre, take the ferry from Vancouver to Nanaimo, or simply click on www.porttheatre.com for a tour of the facility.

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