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Sennheiser evolution Wireless Goes Onstage at Ohrstom-Bryant Theatre
The ten-year old Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre on the beautiful campus of Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia recently made dramatic improvements to its wireless microphone system by replacing its existing unreliable, low-fidelity system with the rock-solid sound of a 24-channel Sennheiser evolution wireless system. The theatre is the main performing hall for Shenandoah Conservatory's theatre and musical theatre productions, as well as the Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre, which presents fourteen performances each of four musicals in a ten-week summer season every year.
For years, the theatre suffered from an inadequate sound system. The weakest link has always been the existing wireless microphones, suffering from poor audio fidelity and RF performance. The existing loudspeaker system also suffered from bad placement and lack of coverage. Golder O'Neill, coordinator of the music production and recording technology program, and Mac Bozman, a scenic and lighting designer in the theatre division, contacted Pete Cosmos of ACME Professional, a Maryland-based audio, video and systems integration company, to rectify the situation.
The loudspeakers were no problem. Cosmos analyzed and modeled the room and installed an L-Acoustics ARC rig with Tannoy delays using XTA signal processing and QSC amplifiers. The sticking point was the wireless system. The school had their sights set on the top-of-the-line system from a Sennheiser competitor, in part because they knew the fidelity would be an improvement over their current system, and also because the system could be controlled from a laptop. But that system strained their budget to the point that there was talk of dropping the renovation and "making do" with the existing audio system for another season.
Cosmos researched their options and suggested a Sennheiser evolution wireless system for half the cost. Using Sennheiser's recently released NET 1 computer interface, they could control and monitor everything from a laptop. The school was skeptical. How would such an inexpensive system stack up sonically against the competitor's top-of-the-line? However, Sennheiser has led the advance of wireless technology for over 50 years.
Cosmos, O'Neill and members of Shenandoah's staff compared the two systems at Shenandoah's recording studio, critically listening with headphones. The comparison revealed that although there were detectable differences between the two systems, they were subtle, even when listening with high-quality headphones. Importantly, the differences, however subtle, didn't necessarily favor the expensive system. With solid RF implementation, computer control, and half the cost, the school made the obvious decision to move forward with the project using the Sennheiser evolution wireless system.
"There's nothing else close to the Sennheiser evolution series price point with this audio performance that includes computer control," enthused Cosmos. "We use Sennheiser evolution wireless in many applications and the fidelity is exceptional!" The evolution series in combination with the NET 1 interface is perfect for any regional theater, house-of-worship, or any place that wants to get top-of-the-line performance without a top-of-the-line price."
In total, the Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre acquired 24 wireless channels and two Net 1 boxes. Most channels are Sennheiser ew 312 G2 body-pack transmitters with rack-mountable receivers with a few SKM series handheld microphones with MMD 935 capsules. The MMD 935 is modeled after Sennheiser's popular e 935 wired vocal microphone and is used by the theatre for singers. Three sets of RF couplers/antennas were installed at the rear of the theatre for rock-solid performance.
"We received several amazing comments from audience members who were well-acquainted with the shortcomings of the old system," said Cosmos. "We had people who had recently returned from New York vacations on Broadway, and they were very complimentary, comparing audio quality at the University with some our systems on Broadway! The theatre was fortunate to have graduate scenic and lighting design student, David McGregor, mixing the summer season. Cosmos explained that, “David has a great sensitivity to proper levels in the theatre and was very instrumental to the success of our first season with the new system. He realizes that the best sound reinforcement for this particular application is 'invisible,' and should perform like there's no reinforcement at all." The University has also enjoyed using the new system for many other important campus events.
In picture: a 24-channel Sennheiser evolution wireless with NET 1 interface easily handles the needs of the multi-purpose Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre at Shenandoah University.
9th April 2008
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