Located in the North of Brazil, rental company Luminário Produçoes provides audio, video, lighting and trussing solutions for various events.Tomas Lyra, one of the owners and company manager, recently landed a deal on a second hand EAW system and called freelance audio engineer Gera Vieira to put it to the test and it and confirm that it was the right investment for them.
"We spent a lot of time searching for a new speaker system, and I convinced Tomas that the only thing he didn't have a choice was the amplifiers. He purchased two Powersoft X4 amps and we started coupling them with all speakers in his old inventory. From subs to wedges, we kept on being astounded by the results. Being confident about this investment, we knew that we already had the perfect amplifier for future investments, when Tomas will be ready to invest in a new system”, explained Gera.
The EAW system has been sitting in Brazil for a while. “I guess the people selling it never really managed to deliver the true sound of the speakers to potential buyers since it wasn't a complete system. There were no processors and more importantly, not the right amplifier”, commented Gera.
When Tomas knew what the seller had in its hands, he immediately looked at the system in details, and in particular at potential presets for the Powersoft X series. Not only did the system have presets, but it also had full interaction with the EAW Greyboxes too.
“I gave Tomas the green light for a test after making sure I had all the info I needed. We flew into Porto Alegre, South of Brazil, to conduct the tests and went to ProShows, a former EAW representative and a major seller of pro audio products in Brazil. Once we fired up the system, everyone’s face in the room went to wow mode!” he enthuses.
Luminário purchased the EAW KF730s and SB730s, as well as aa full rig comprised of 26 x EAW KF740s line array speakers. With this new complete system in its fleet, Luminário has ordered two further Powersoft X8 DSP+D amplifiers as well as an X4, bringing Luminário's inventory from zero to seven X Series amps to complement its new EAW multipurpose system.
The Powersoft Experience
Gera became aware of the Powersoft technology when he took a Level One training course at Clair Brothers along with Fabiano Rezende from Fly Audio Solutions, the Technical Support Head of Universal Music (Powersoft's distributor) in Brazil.
They exchanged a lot about Powersoft’s ongoing developments. Fabiano recently invited Gera and Universal Music’s Jean Costa to translate an Armonía Training Seminar in São Paulo, promoted byUniversal Music’s main dealer in the country, River Music Pro.
“This is where I became a true believer of Powersoft amplification technology. I was totally fascinated by the way it interacted with the transducers in a speaker. I can honestly say that, having listened to a lot of things in the audio world, Powersoft is clearly way above any of its competitors. The knowledge acquired during that seminar has become the driving force behind Luminário's newest acquisitions”, he said.
First use of the whole system
The first outing for the KF730 & SB730 rig was held at Instituto Ricardo Brennand's art gallery in the city of Recife, where a luxurious banquet was setup for 500 VIP guests. The event was part of the 17º LIDE Management Forum where Luminário Produçoes provided a full set up of sound, lighting and LED panels to highlight the performance Brazilian artist Alceu Valença.
A Powersoft X8 amplifier was used to power the main system composed of six EAW KF730s flown per side, with three speakers handled per pair of channels, while one Powersoft X4 was handling the EAW SB730 subs, with three elements stacked per side, three speakers being handled per pair of channels.
Gera explains: “It was very much a field test! When we arrived on site for the EAW testing, a rack of Crown HD 4x3500s was powering the system. I’m not sure what kind of processing was in there but it clearly wasn't what the box needed. Once we switched to the X4, the jaw dropping effect was immediate. The power of the amplifier combined with the power of the DSP controlled by the Armonía Suite is unparalleled!”
Everybody was very pleased with the results. Alveu Valença’s FOH engineer, Rogério Andrade, and Tomas Lyra, owners of Luminário Produçoes, were personally complimented by the general producer of the event for the sound quality. “Rogério was all smiles and really happy with the response he got from the system. After doing the soundcheck, Alceu's lead guitar player was wondering what was happening behind the speakers to get such an amazing sound. He went on the side of the stage to check to find the Powersoft’s X Series amps. He was truly amazed with the power to size ratio!”, details Gera.
“The whole system was set up using Armonía. It really is a great interface and the more I use it, the bigger fan I become.”, he emphasizes. "Powersoft provides reliability, unparalleled power in such a small footprint, and outstanding DSP quality controlled by a cleverly engineered software. It’sas good as it gets!”.