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Tannoy with Northern Stage at Barnsley Civic

Few regeneration projects have attracted as much anticipation and interest as the Barnsley Civic. When the doors of the former Civic theatre reopened on the 5 March this year it marked the completion of one of the most dramatic regeneration projects to be undertaken within Barnsley. The newly refurbished building offers a unique combination of managed workspace, a new performance and exhibition spaces. The Civic will offer a legacy that celebrates the important contribution the building has made to promoting the creative industries within the borough of Barnsley.

The main internal space at The Civic is The Assembly Room - a highly flexible space that can be used to support almost any type of entertainment or event. From contemporary dance and drama to classical music, the dynamic 350 seat capacity space can be used accommodate performances of almost every type of genre. The space features a sprung wooden floor and is fully equipped with its own audio and lighting system. That of course is where systems installer Northern Stage Services Ltd came in, boasting over 30 years experience in serving the performing arts sector. As part of this comprehensive and cutting edge AV installation, Northern Stage elected to specify Tannoy's VNET range of networkable loudspeakers and subs throughout the main performance hall.
A total of eight Tannoy VNET 15 full range speakers are flown across the main hall floor area, three down each side with a central enclosure at each end providing accurate and controlled SPL coverage throughout the space. The loudspeakers are mounted on three of the seven Metalworx trusses, spanning the width of the hall at equal distances, using the proprietary Tannoy flying hardware - allowing for precise alignment and orientation of the cabinets. The speakers were specified in white, rather than the standard black textured finish - to match the enclosures to the surrounding décor, making them less obtrusive and heard rather than seen.

Each VNET 15 enclosure features Tannoy's industry-leading Dual Concentric point source technology in the shape of a 15" PowerDual drive unit, with the inherent benefits that this offers - in this case excellent phase coherence and even, controlled dispersion characteristics that mean the speakers can be mounted horizontally without compromising acoustic performance. As part of the VNET family of products, the VNET 15 also benefits from integrated leading edge digital signal processing, network control and a dual channel Class D amplifier to befitting of a loudspeaker designed to form the complete installation solution. These speakers are intended for very high SPL applications where extended frequency response, high SPL and extremely low distortion combine with outstanding clarity, crystal clear intelligibility, and definition are a necessity and not a luxury; particularly for optimum acoustic performance in live sound situations such as here at The Civic.

Although the VNET 15s are full-range, Northern Stage installed a pair of Tannoy VNET 18DR subwoofers to provide more than ample low frequency reinforcement wherever the event or specific application requires it. Each VNET 18DR is mounted on a bespoke castor frame for easy movement around the hall to suit. The enclosures themselves each feature a high efficiency 458mm (18") drive unit with a 100mm (4") voice coil. This is mounted in an immensely strong cabinet, in standard black finish this time, constructed from 18mm (5/8") multi-ply birch hardwood. Extending the frequency response down to 29Hz, these networkable, active subwoofers make the perfect accompaniment for the 8 x VNET 15s in providing a versatile and capable audio system for The Assembly Room.

A pair of VNET SC1 digital processors provide full network DSP control of the system, allowing for remote optimisation and simple configuration of digital crossovers, EQ, delay and limiting functions.

Northern Stage Services' Ted Ruddiman was extremely pleased with the end results. "We had no hesitation in specifying Tannoy VNET speakers for this demanding job, having installed them in many previous venues to great effect," he said..The PowerDual driver on the VNET 15 is in a class of its own when it comes to clarity and controlled coverage in a compact box, and the fact they have integrated amplification and DSP makes them so quick and convenient to install. The other critical factor for us of course, is Tannoy's reliability factor - we can specify with confidence, do the job and get out without worrying about speaker failures and whatnot . . . though the five-year warranty offers peace of mind anyway!"

In addition to installing the VNET system Northern Stage Services installed the stage lighting system. This included fixed lighting trusses, and luminaires by Selecon and ETC. Moving lights were ColorSpot 250ATs and ColorWash 575 ATs by Robe. These, and the Zero 88 Chilli dimmers, are controlled by an ETC ION console with fader wing.

Northern Stage also installed The Yamaha LS9-32 digital mixing console which was ideally suited to the varied requirements of the venue.

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Tannoy with Northern Stage at Barnsley Civic

26th May 2009

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