Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC) has completed three major renovations over those years and now boasts all of the amenities necessary for a modern, 21st century concert venue, including a new L-Acoustics Kara loudspeaker system installed by Boulevard Carroll Entertainment Group.
The new house PA system comprises left and right arrays of 10 Kara each backed by hangs of three SB18 subs, a pair of KS28 subs under the stage, two X12 outfills, four X8 frontfills, and six X8 under-balcony fills, all powered by six LA12X and two LA4X amplified controllers. According to Boulevard Carroll President Anthony Cioffi, the installation of the system was the culmination of a years-long process during which the 1,300-seat venue experimented with several major brands of sound systems, ultimately finding Kara to be the best choice for a variety of reasons.
“The main physical challenge for the installation was the need to have everything hang off of the existing box truss, including the sound and the lighting,” Anthony explains. “In addition to the weight issues that brings up, it’s also a tight fit. The Kara boxes and SB18 subs offered the best combination of coverage and impact for a variety of applications from theatrical performances to rock concerts, and in terms of unit size and weight. Crucially, we were able to fit the subs directly behind the Kara hangs. No other system could offer all of those elements.”
The Kara system had visited the venue several times in recent years, both as a rental system, provided by Boulevard Carroll, and most recently as part of an extended evaluation process by the theatre to choose the best installed system for its wide range of shows. During that process, a number of complete PA systems were brought in and installed for a week or two at a time, for a number of shows.
