An early 20th century castle and museum of historic note, Casa Loma is also one of Toronto’s most popular sites for concerts and other social events. The favoured event venue in warm-weather months is a glass-walled outdoor pavilion that was recently outfitted with a new distributed system of Meyer Sound IntelligentDC self-powered loudspeakers.
“I was looking at Meyer Sound from the outset as nobody else offers a comparable solution,” says Wesley Thuro of Event Media Design, the exclusive AV provider at Casa Loma. “What we needed was a relatively small but extremely high quality distributed system – something like you’d find as delays in a major symphony hall. It had to be equally adaptable to any musical style, satisfy any rider, and also be easy to install and remove at the beginning and end of the season. Meyer Sound IntelligentDC was the perfect fit on every count.”
A square structure measuring about 60 feet per side, Casa Loma’s pavilion hosts two regular weekly music events: soul music on Monday and classical music ensembles on Tuesdays. On other days, the vinyl-roofed pavilion is a popular site for weddings, receptions, banquets and business meetings.
According to Thuro, another major benefit of the Meyer Sound solution is noise control. “We are in a residential neighbourhood, which means we needed a system that would keep the artists happy, deliver plenty of level to the audiences, yet at the same time limit sounds that carry outside. With the new system we have uniform, high quality sound throughout the venue with much less bleed beyond the immediate grounds.”
The new Casa Loma system deploys four UPJunior-XP loudspeakers as front mains, supported by three pairs of delayed UP-4XP loudspeakers and bolstered in bass by two UMS-1XP subwoofers. Two more UPJunior-XP loudspeakers are available as stage side fill when needed. All incorporate Meyer Sound’s exclusive IntelligentDC technology, which provides all the benefits of self-powered, bi-amplified systems without need for AC mains at each loudspeaker location. A single cable – no electrical conduit required – carries 48 VDC power and balanced audio from two MPS-488 HP power supply and signal distribution units. A Galileo Callisto 616 processor provides drive, optimisation and delay.
“With the Meyer IntelligentDC system, Casa Loma is making a long-term investment – something that will last for 15 to 20 years, if not more,” Thuro continues. “And because I’m the one who deals with the visiting artists and have to respond to their needs, I know that I won’t have issues when it comes to satisfying riders. They see Meyer, say it’s fine, and move on to ‘What do you have for lights?’”
A 98-room Gothic revival mansion recognised as one of Canada’s few true castles, Casa Loma was built by financier Henry Mill Pellatt between 1911 and 1914. It is owned by the city of Toronto and operated under long-term lease by Liberty Entertainment Group. Another property also managed by the same company, the Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex, also features extensive Meyer Sound systems, including new leopard line arrays in the principal large performance venue.
