Forum North needed to replace the old, outdated system in the Capitaine Bougainville theatre and had been on the lookout for a system that would offer the outstanding audio quality they required and see them well into the future as well as meeting their budget requirements. Forum North technical manager, Ben Brittliff, takes up the story:
"We wanted a system that would provide quality sound and coverage throughout the theatre and that would last us at least ten or even twenty years. Our old system had been in place since 1985, and whilst it was one of the premium systems of its time, it was definitely showing its age and was no longer capable of handling the kinds of shows we are doing," he explained.
"We hadn't caught on to the international buzz about EM Acoustics until we met Dave Shepard from EM and Martin McNally from Showtechnix at the annual EVANZ conference, but having heard the system there and discussed its capabilities in details with Dave and Martin, we knew this was the right choice for us."
"The system is so compact that at first, the power they generate is a little surprising. However, the technology inside these discreet units meant that they outperformed many of the larger, more cumbersome systems we had been considering," continued Brittliff. "Once we'd heard it, there was no doubting why HALO-C has been chosen for venues like the Royal Albert Hall."
Showtechnix brought in the expertise of Glen Ruske to calculate, align and EQ the system for Forum North. Ruske is the owner of leading live sound production and hire company BounceNZ, and himself a renowned audio engineer in NZ specialising in live theatre. It was the first time Ruske had worked with a HALO-C system, and he was so impressed with the results that he bought a system for his own company!
"I was amazed at how flat the HALO-C elements were straight out of the box, and how transparent they sounded," he said. "The cabinets are discreet, compact and sound fantastic - a really flexible option and absolutely perfect for the live theatre work we do all over New Zealand. We need a multi-use system to cover other applications as well and we feel that we can use HALO-C on pretty much anything, from corporate work to a complete L-C-R system for theatre. It really does punch above its weight."
"We also purchased the EM Acoustics amps and processors just for flexibility," continued Ruske. "It made complete sense as a package; the processors aren't locked with the manufacturer's presets unlike some other brands, so we can use them with our other systems as well which is obviously a bonus and a great ROI. It's an all-round great system and we're very pleased with it. In fact, it's performed so well for us that we decided to invest in some of EM's smaller systems as well for delays/fills or even as a small stand-alone system, so we've added twelve ultra-compact EMS-51s to our hire stock."
(Jim Evans)
