Meyer System Suits the Sydney Opera House   The glorious Sydney Opera House has a turbulent history. The billowing sails of the Sydney Opera House may be one of the world's most striking sights, but the architectural icon has a turbulent history. Joern Utzon, the Danish architect who won the design competition in 1956, worked on his vision for nine years. When the conservative Liberal-Country Party came to power in 1965, the Opera House became a political and financial scapegoat. On April 28, 1966, Utzon resigned and left the country, never to return. Only the outer shells had been completed. An Australian team of architects took on the tricky (and black banned) job of finishing the interior. Many studies, models and rewrites later, Utzon's original vision for the internal spaces were scrapped. The main hall became the concert hall, and the smaller space was relegated to opera. Over the next 25 years, the Opera House became famous for its thrilling exterior, but the interior was still a work in progress. Suspended reflectors were added over the stage of the concert hall to improve the sound. The ceiling was raised and the distance between the side walls was reduced. Soffits were used along the side walls to increase reflections in the side boxes. The acoustics were constantly being tested and improved. In August 1999, the Sydney Opera House engaged Joern Utzon as a consultant to gain his unique insight into the future design needs of the building. His son and partner, Jan Utzon, recently came to Sydney to collect data for his father. They are now working on a Statement of Design Principles - a document that will be used in the long-term conservation and management of the building. Researching and buying the Meyer system Sound and AV Coordinator David Claringbold suggested Meyer speakers to bring the Opera House out of the 'hall for hire' category. Three years ago, the SOH, after a submission from the Sound AV Department, bought a comprehensive Meyer sound system to bring the Opera House, and its largest venue, the concert hall, out of the 'hall for hire' category, and into a world of dynamic performance programming. David Claringbold, 44, has been Sound and AV Coordinator at the Opera House for four years. A former singer/songwriter with masses of curly hair and a winning smile, Claringbold was a freelance touring engineer and record producer before moving permanently to the Opera House. "We were looking for a mobile sound system to do concerts outside, and also to increase our involvement, profitability and profile in shows in the Concert Hall," Claringbold said. "The philosophy of the house was becoming more proactive in terms of programming. We needed good sound systems. To have that you need good sound engineers, that whole package of a sound system. We were a little bit on the back foot in the early days. Other companies would come through and do the sound. We saw that as a reason to lift our game, attract better people and service the direction the house was taking. "I had used Meyer loudspeakers touring - I saw the Meyer MSL-4 system at a trade show and arranged a demonstration. We listened to a few other loudspeakers that were on the market, but Meyer was typically specified for orchestral concerts, by shows like Buena Vista Social Club, all the international touring acts. It had an international acceptability - it was a good currency for us. And they sound great. "I was really taken by the concept of the self-powered speaker. The Meyer self-powered loudspeakers were the first with an amplifier and processing electronics built inside it. I was intrigued by that concept, by the uniformity and versatility it would offer. That suited our application." The Opera House bought a mobile concert system, which can be configured as one large system or several smaller systems for the studio, drama theatre, playhouse, or outside. The system consists of eight MSL-4, eight UPA-1P, eight PSW-2, four CQ-1 and two CQ-2 loudspeakers, six UPM-1P and four UM-1P monitors. "It was early days, we were a bit wet behind the ears," he admitted. "But with the Meyer package, they didn't just sell us the speaker boxes, they sold us a bit of intelligence as well. Four of our sound technicians were then put through SIM, the Meyer system analysis course. That brought in a whole understanding, not just about Meyer loudspeakers but about all loudspeakers and systems and the way they worked. It was a good investment for us." A Live Space with a 2.5 Second Reverb Time The Meyer speakers configured in the concert hall - three MSL-4 cabinets per side, a centre MSL-4 with a CQ-1 under the left, centre, and right MSL-4s, eight UPM-1P for the surround areas, and two PSW-2 subwoofers per side. The directionality of the cabinets focuses precisely on the audience, and avoids the wall, ceilings and floor surfaces. Acts as diverse as the Buena Vista Social Club, Daimanda Galas, Andrea Bocelli and Wynton Marsalis play at the concert hall, which seats 3000. The long narrow space has high ceilings, wooden floors and steeped sides. It is a very live environment, with a 2.5 second reverb time. The audience sits in a 360° configuration around the stage. "It's a difficult environment for any loudspeaker installation," Claringbold explained. "The Meyer speakers help us. We use the directionality of the cabinets to maximise the number of audience we're hitting, and minimise the amount of wall surface, ceilings and floors. "We're always questioning what we're doing, adapting it to certain productions. Some productions have big lighting components and we have to fit around that. But the configuration we settled on for the Olympic Arts Festival, Buena Vista Social Club, WOMAD Music shows, and Diamanda Galas was three MSL-4 cabinets per side, a centre MSL-4 with a CQ-1 under the left, centre, and right MSL-4s, eight UPA-1P for the surround areas, and two PSW-2 subwoofers per side. This gives us the horizontal coverage that we need. Three boxes seem to be the right number. We have tried it with less and come back to three. We need the centre box because of the distance between the left and right hanging points. There was a slight shaded area down the centre. We felt it important not only to fill that shaded area, but to also provide a centre image for the main vocals. "We're trying to expose the Opera House as more than a classical music venue. We have a whole range of dynamic sound design and engineering here for all types of music and theatre. "The Meyer system has been very successful. Everyone has been happy with it, and it's really provided a whole new level of work and exposure for our sound crew."

Featured Products MSL-4 CQ-1 CQ-2 UPA-1P PSW-2 UM-1P UPM-1P SIM