Each year, the Las Vegas Motor Speedway is transformed into an electronic dance music village made up of multiple live music stages, food and retail vendors, and more than 100,000 resident revellers per day– all there to celebrate a multitude of electronic music genres during the three-day Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC).
For the eleventh year in a row, Las Vegas-based 3G Productions was on site to manage audio production for 3 of the largest stages in the Speedway – Cosmic Meadow, Kinetic Field, and Circuit Ground. Julio Valdez, senior systems engineer for 3G Productions, specified d&b audiotechnik sound reinforcement for each stage to provide the performers and their fans with the best music experience possible.
“We used more than 750 d&b audiotechnik loudspeakers, including the new GSL System, for this event,” explained Valdez. “Each stage requires a throw of at least 500 feet, which is not an easy task given the desert weather. When humidity drops to 5% or lower, it is very challenging to get high frequencies that distance. You must be very aware of the capability of the products you are using. Our experience with d&b loudspeakers has been exceptional. We use delays to further the blanket of sound.”
Valdez deployed the d&b audiotechnik SL-Series GSL System for the Cosmic Meadow stage, the first stage visitors see when arriving through the main entrance. The new loudspeaker system was created specifically for large sound reinforcement applications like EDC. The GSL8 and GSL12 differ only in dispersion pattern with the GSL8 producing 80 degrees constant directivity and the GSL12 120 degrees.
The Cosmic Meadows PA was made up of left and right arrays of 16 GSL8 and 2 GSL12 each. Outfills consisted of 14 GSL8 and 2 GSL12 each. Sub bass was reinforced by forty SL-GSUB subwoofers ground stacked in front of the stage. The SL-GSUB complements the low end with 2 forward facing 21-inch drivers and a single rear facing 21-inch driver delivering cardioid dispersion. Six J12s placed along the lip of the stage handled frontfill duties.
“Because the GSL System utilizes the d&b software suite, which provides planning, modelling and control, it was easier for us to accommodate for the lack of humidity,” adds Valdez. “As a result, we gained just enough extra throw to place the delay towers at 200 feet, just missing placement on the grass, which was strictly forbidden. It was a real lifesaver.”
The set of 2 towers Valdez specified utilized individual flown arrays of 10 GSL10 and 2 GSL8 loudspeakers, plus 2 ground-stacked SUBs to provide even coverage of the 500-feet deep by 600-feet wide listening area
The SL-Series loudspeakers are loaded with 2 front facing 14-inch drivers and 2 side firing 10-inch drivers that create tighter directivity behaviour with extended low-frequency headroom towards the audience. Midrange is delivered by a high sensitivity horn loaded with a 10-inch driver, while three custom designed 3.4-inch diaphragm high-frequency drivers mounted on a wave shaping device provide HF resolution and output. Both boxes offer accurate, consistent pattern control down to 45 Hz.
Each loudspeaker is driven in two-way active mode by a d&b D80 amplifier: one channel powers the 14-inch drivers, with all other components, passively crossed over and powered by a second channel. Rack mounted amplifiers, located under each array, drove the system.
For Kinetic Field, arguably the largest stage at the event, Valdez specified a J-Series system, the backbone of the d&b product line. The main PA utilized left/right hangs each made up of ten J8 and eight J12 modules. Outfill arrays, hung to the left and right of the main PA, consisted of 10 J8 and 6 J12 enclosures each. Low end was provided by thirty “fat stacks” (2 J-SUBs over one J-INFRA sub) along with 18 B2-SUBs stacked 3×3 at the outer ends.
“Similar to Cosmic Meadow, we had to cover a listening area that was 500 feet deep but this time 700 feet wide,” explained Valdez. “In addition to the main PA we used four arrays in the first row of delays (180 feet out from stage) – J arrays were hung in the outer towers to expand coverage while the two inner towers were equipped with V arrays. We also deployed V arrays in the four arrays in the second row of delays (360 feet from stage). We used a similar system last year with the same great results. No matter where you were, it sounded great.”
Valdez extended the low end throughout the area with stacks of B22-SUBs under each delay tower. Once again d&b D80 amplifiers drove the entire system with Valdez noting, “Even in the heat the D80 amps can be driven full tilt with no issues at all. They are incredible workhorses.”
The Circuit Ground stage was unique in that the listening area was fan shaped, starting out at 300 feet wide at the stage and gradually expanded to 500 feet wide at the back – which was 566 feet from the stage. The main PA was made up of left/right hanging arrays, each consisting of 12 J8 and 6 J12 modules. Outfill was handled by t2 more arrays of 4 J8 and 8 J12 enclosures each. Twenty-four J-SUBs and 12 J-INFRAs stacked across the front of the stage provided the low end the performers demand.
Once again, 2 rows of delay towers were necessary to blanket the fans with sound. The four towers in the first row were equipped with arrays of 16 J-Series hung in each of the inner towers and 2 more arrays made up of 12 V-Series each in the end towers. The second ring of delays utilised 2 towers, each housing more V-Series arrays. Another tower equipped with a V-Series array was erected to help cover the VIP seating area at Circuit Ground.
“This is a very large event that requires serious sound quality and coverage,” concluded Valdez. “We consistently rely on our d&b system because we are confident it will exceed our clients expectations – and it does. We had used a different system for Cosmic Meadows last year and I have to say, the new GSL System didn’t fail to impress. Everyone in the organisation was extremely pleased with the end result.”
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