MEYER LEOPARD IN THE MUSIC CENTER, WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL
1 February 2016
A new Meyer Sound LEOPARD linear PA system has been installed in The Music Center in Walt Disney Concert Hall, home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) and its Music & Artistic Director, Gustavo Dudamel, as well as the Los Angeles Master Chorale and its Artistic Director, Grant Gershon. Designed by architect Frank Gehry, the 2265-seat Concert Hall opened in 2003, winning immediate acclaim as one of the most acoustically sophisticated concert halls in the world. While the LA Phil relies on the hall’s natural acoustics to perform unamplified, an increasing number of contemporary performances require sound reinforcement. LEOPARD will support these shows, which include artists such as Herbie Hancock, Dianne Reeves, and Jose Gonzalez in the LA Phil’s 2015-16 season.
The compact LEOPARD system possesses an impressive power-to-size ratio and delivers excellent clarity with ultra-low distortion. It’s made to treat sound with the same respect that the designers engineered into the performance space.
The system was specified for the hall by Fred Vogler, principal of Sonitus Consulting and a respected sound designer/mixer. “Historically, loudspeakers focus on level and throw, but that is not necessarily what we need in Walt Disney Concert Hall,” he states. “This hall needs a speaker that delivers high performance and is low-profile. A speaker with linear response that is so natural sounding you can hardly tell the music is amplified. LEOPARD combines the latest technology with innovative thinking and design. The result is that it captures natural acoustics as never before, and adds no colouration to the sound. You hear what the artist on stage creates, and you hear it in every seat.”
The new Meyer Sound configuration includes twin arrays of 14 LEOPARD line array loudspeakers and three 900-LFC low-frequency control elements each, aimed for optimum reach throughout the hall. A Galileo Callisto loudspeaker management system handles system drive and alignment.
LEOPARD is self-powered, with two-way design, two nine-inch cone drivers, and a three-inch diaphragm compression driver. Its Class-D amplifiers keep distortion to an absolute minimum and consume less energy. It’s an award-winning system that’s scooped up the Commercial Integrator BEST Award for Venue/Line Array Loudspeakers and the Pro Audio Group Best of Show Award as a product with the highest perceived value, ROI, total cost of ownership, richness of feature set, ease-of-use, reliability, versatility, and demonstrated performance.
To John Meyer, president and CEO of Meyer Sound, music is a lifelong love that drives his quest for perfect sound. His goal is to capture the essence of the music—so that audiences focus on the artistry, and not the technology that delivers the sound. “When we hear all the incredible musicians playing through our systems and see the audience completely enthralled by the performances, we feel the satisfaction of knowing we’ve done something good for the music and for everyone involved,” he says.
More info:
Meyer Sound: www.meyersound.com
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