Brown Note Productions installed the KSL system in the Mission Ballroom early this year and it has already seen its fair share of artists. Here is a look into the pairing of this particular system from d&b audiotechnik with the Mission Ballroom.
ASHEVILLE, NC 12.19.19—The Mission Ballroom in Denver, Colorado is a scalable, state-of-the-art concert venue that opened in late July. The 60,000 square-foot ballroom features a moving stage that provides flexible capacity from 2,200 to 3,950 guests and unrivaled sightlines via tiered rows. With a permanently installed d&b audiotechnik KSL system providing an exceptional listening experience, Mission Ballroom serves not only as a premiere concert facility, but also as a unique special event space for corporate meetings, award shows, and more. The newest Denver venue for AEG, with recent live events including opening night with Chevy Metal and Wynonna, followed by concerts from The Lumineers, the Trey Anastasio Band, Ben Harper, and the Steve Miller Band, to name a few.
“We have been deploying d&b GSL systems at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO, and Don Strasburg, co-president and senior talent buyer for the Red Rocks’ AEG Presents Rocky Mountains, had really developed a liking for the system after hearing different artists and different genres of music through it,” states Ryan Knutson, President of AVL integrator Brown Note Productions (Thornton, CO). Strasburg and Sherwood Webber (Director of Production at AEG Presents Rocky Mountains) had a chance to catch a demo of the KSL system early this year and heard the same type of voice and pattern control, taking interest in this system as a good fit for the venue.”
KSL, the “little sibling” of the d&b SL-Series, achieves full bandwidth constant directivity pattern control, significant headroom down to the lowest frequencies, and enhanced high frequency resolution in a comparatively small package. The qualities that make it an outstanding choice for outdoor venues are the same that make it a shrewd and scalable choice for the Mission Ballroom.
“The size of the cabinets and the 10 degrees of maximum splay really fit the venue and its needs,” says Knutson. “The sightlines in a venue like this are very important to AEG with just that goal: great sightlines from every seat in the house. The off-axis system frequency response meant that we could deploy single arrays and cover the far left and right seating areas with only a small uncovered sliver on the extreme SL and SR sides of the venue, which we covered with a single d&b Vi7P. With the pattern control being so critical to great sound indoors, the KSL loudspeaker system was the natural choice for this venue as AEG began to understand its capabilities and how it would react in the venue. This system, in conjunction with d&b’s ArrayProcessing technology, meant we could deliver consistent and even sound throughout the venue in order to directly align with AEG’s model of no bad seat in the venue.”
The benefits of KSL extend beyond the audience into the stage area due to the full bandwidth directivity, presenting a quieter stage for artists and an easier job for monitor engineers.
“We love the clean and powerful response of the KSL installed at the Mission Ballroom,” states Webber. “We knew we needed to take the next step in evolution, as was philosophy of the venue from the start. Artists and fans agree that the present and future are realized with d&b at the Mission Ballroom.”
The d&b front of house system consists of 24 x KSL (10 x KSL8, 2 x KSL12 per side), 11 x SL-GSUB, 6 x Yi10P used for front fills, 2 x Yi7P for outfills, 6 x 10S-D used for under balcony fills, 8 x D80 amplifiers, 2 x D20 amplifiers, 1 x 30D amplifier, and 1 x DS10. The monitor system includes 12 x M4 monitors, 1 x AL90 and 2 x V-GSUB for drum fill, 1 x V7P, 4 x AL90 and 4 x V-GSUB for side fills, 4 x D20 amplifiers.
For more information on d&b audiotechnik, visit www.dbaudio.com.
