USA - When a passenger vessel moored at 1800 N Harbor Dr in San Diego for a floating party named Noise Complaint, the sound was carefully engineered. With an audience capacity of 1,200 and a layout combining open-air energy up top with a more intimate environment below, the production team leaned on dBTechnologies to deliver sound reinforcement across both decks of the ship.
The event fully utilised the vessel’s two-deck configuration, with crowds moving between an exposed upper deck and an enclosed middle deck. The upper deck served as the primary performance space, deploying Opera Reevo 212 loudspeakers as mains, supported by Opera Reevo 210 out-fills and VIO S118R subwoofers, with additional Opera Reevo 210 cabinets on poles as DJ monitors. The middle deck featured DVX D12 loudspeakers paired with a single S618 subwoofer, maintaining clarity and balanced low-frequency presence within the more reflective interior structure.
“Despite limited power availability aboard the vessel’s outdoor deck, the Reevos delivered impressive performance under such constraining parameters – cutting through the entire sea of people, never drowned out by the party,” said Don Brennan, owner of SDEP.
This deployment highlighted the latest evolution in dBTechnologies’ active loudspeaker lineup. Opera Reevo introduces a quasi-three-way configuration with Class-D Digipro G2 amplification and linear-phase FIR filtering for precision imaging.
EASE Focus was used for modelling and predictive coverage planning, ahead of load-in. Once onboard, measurement-based optimization ensured the system adapted to environmental shifts, crowd movement, and restrictive power infrastructure. A Yamaha LS9 at FOH supported flexible control throughout the event.
System technician and FOH engineer Eric Hester noted: “Power constraints and vessel acoustics always keep us thinking ahead. Yet the Opera Reevos stayed responsive and clean whether guests were crowding the rails outside or filling the indoor space below. The experience stayed seamless from deck to deck.”
