Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2012 - 59

Theatre, as well as in large outdoor venues, where it has helped
localize the first arriving wave front."
The theory proved sound, particularly on the wharf where
the anchor was a Renkus-Heinz PN82 loudspeaker hidden in
a rough burlap sack sitting casually amid some barrels and
crates. In the vignettes staged in the gazebo, there were four
slim Meyer UPM-1Ps mounted just under the roof edge at each
of the four points of the compass.
"The gazebo worked particularly well because of the loudspeakers in line with the performers, acting as reinforcement
to a point source," Baron noted. "We had mono audio coming
from the gazebo 360 degrees around it. The UPM-1P has a 100
degree conical dispersion pattern, so the coverage was excellent, and those speakers are unbelievably good sounding. For
people who were further away, we had a little bit of delayed fill
coming from some of the other loudspeakers on the wharf and
along the rear fence."
Proof of how well our concept was working came early
in the run when I was standing beside one of the producers
watching the drama unfold on the wharf platform. Glancing behind her, the producer whispered, "The speakers in the back of
the tent aren't on!" I assured her that they were on and working. "The speakers in the tent aren't on," she insisted. "I can't
hear them." Again, I assured her that they were on and working
properly. She turned and walked back to check the rear loudspeakers, stopping abruptly about fifteen feet in front of them

where she could first hear them as a distinct source. "That's the
magic of what this is all about," I explained, her smile broadening as she began to understand how the sound system was
imperceptibly and unobtrusively reinforcing the actors.

configuring TiMax2
Multiple TiMax2 SoundHubs can be cascaded for scaling beyond a 64 input x 64 output configuration for operation in
multi-zoned theme parks and other large venues.
Each matrix input can be selected from among three sets:
analog or AES-3 digital audio, Cobranet or Ethersound audio,
and playback from the internal hard disk drive. Alternatively,
these three inputs can be mixed together or crossfaded from
one to another into a single matrix input.
"We expect most people to select between these submix
inputs," Hayden said, "but it's not unusual for some live shows
to have playback backup, which could be used to thicken up
the backing vocals if the band is having a slack night."
Balanced analog audio interconnect is via groups of eight
channels on DB25 connectors in the now familiar Yamaha
pinout. Digital I/O with sample rate conversion is provided for
sixteen channels on DB25 connectors, with an option to sync
automatically to embedded word clock, or to lock to external
word clock on a BNC connector. Digital audio on Cobranet or
Ethersound networks is provided in pairs of thirty-two on Cat5
cable. MIDI, SMPTE, and GPIO connectors round out the rear

2012

theatre design

& technology

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2012