Electronic music supergroup Swedish House Mafia performed its first-ever concert in Estonia in a show that has already become part of the country's live music history. Held at the iconic Tallinn Song Festival Grounds, the event gave fans their first opportunity to experience the band live anywhere in the Baltic region.
The concert was powered by a Martin Audio Wavefront Precision WPL sound system, marking the first deployment of the manufacturer's flagship line array in Estonia.
The Tallinn Song Festival Grounds (Tallinna Lauluväljak) is one of Estonia's most iconic outdoor venues. Opened in 1960 and regarded as a masterpiece of post-war architecture, it is renowned for its distinctive concrete arch, designed by Henno Sepmann to provide exceptional natural acoustics for thousands of choir singers.
However, as Martin Audio distributor and sound system provider Audiosky knows from its many deployments at the venue, what works perfectly for acoustic choirs presents a major challenge when it comes to high-powered amplified concerts.
This acoustic screen was designed to project the voices of 10,000 singers beautifully towards the audience, and it certainly fulfils that purpose. But when a high-output sound system is positioned in front of it, the reflections generated by that surface become a huge challenge, creating highly uncomfortable delay times, explains Tiit Terask, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Audiosky.
For this landmark event, the physical design of Martin Audio's Wavefront Precision system and its electronic optimisation software proved decisive. "To overcome this acoustic obstacle, we adopted a dual approach", continues Tiit. "First, we moved the stage further away from the concrete screen. Second, this first deployment of Martin Audio WPL in Estonia delivered the best acoustic results we have ever achieved at this venue".
Adding further complexity to the project, the concert was staged in a 270-degree coverage configuration, another first for the venue, requiring a complex and carefully engineered system design.
The main left and right arrays each consisted of 18 Martin Audio WPL line array enclosures. Due to the unique stage design, the out-hangs, each comprising 14 WPL cabinets, were positioned further upstage than the main arrays. The delay system consisted of 12 WPC elements per side, while nine Martin Audio W8VDQ point source loudspeakers served as front fills.
To deliver the powerful low-frequency impact synonymous with Swedish House Mafia's performances, an impressive configuration of more than 100 subwoofers was deployed. This included 16 SXHF218 subwoofers (eight per side) flown behind the main arrays and 16 W8LS subwoofers (eight per side) flown behind the out-hangs. At ground level, 72 SX218 subwoofers were arranged in three cardioid arrays of 24 cabinets each.
For Martin Audio Product Specialist Ben Tucker, who was on site supporting the Audiosky team with the system design and deployment, the venue's geometry posed a significant coverage challenge. "The raked seating area featured a large VIP section positioned right in the centre", Tucker explains. "To cover this unusual geometry, we decided that the main PA would handle the entire audience area, allowing the delay system to blend in smoothly rather than acting as a completely separate system".
Using Martin Audio's DISPLAY software, Tucker optimised the array coverage.
We aimed the top cabinet of the main PA at the furthest listener and then used the software processing to create a 'Hard Avoid' zone extending up the rear wall and across the concrete canopy. I also assigned equal DSP weighting to both the audience coverage and the ceiling area, a technique we regularly use at major UK festivals to control noise limits and prevent sound from propagating beyond the audience, he explains.
The subwoofer configuration also proved to be a crucial element of the design. "I spent a couple of weeks testing different configurations before finding the optimum solution", says Tucker. "As soon as multiple subwoofer sources are introduced into a venue, comb filtering and cancellations become an issue. In this case, we were working with seven separate subwoofer sources. We knew we needed flown subwoofers because we had to cover a throw distance of 105 metres, and Swedish House Mafia's show is exceptionally heavy on low frequencies. I applied a combination of delay and gain steering to direct the energy from the flown subwoofers down into the audience area".
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The shape of the stage also influenced the design of the ground-stacked subwoofer system. "We ultimately opted for three arrays of 24 subwoofers stacked three cabinets high, with the centre cabinet in each stack reversed to create a cardioid pattern. It was an enormous amount of low-end energy—the largest subwoofer deployment I have ever carried out in my career".
For Tiit, the system's performance exceeded all expectations.
I was amazed by the smoothness and consistency of the coverage. I am usually quite sceptical of manufacturers' prediction software, but in this case the simulations matched the real-world results. One of the biggest challenges at this venue is achieving consistent coverage. Whether the audience stood between the main left and right arrays or moved into the area between a main array and an out-hang, the audio profile remained identical. Achieving seamless, uniform sound across such a large area is an extraordinary accomplishment.
Tiit attributes the technical success of the event to the intensive weeks of planning beforehand. "It was a major undertaking, but the team's preparation was flawless. I am incredibly proud of my crew; everyone performed their role to perfection".
Ben Tucker fully agrees: "As a systems engineer and member of Martin Audio's product support team, it was a real pleasure to work alongside such a highly skilled and professional crew. I have complete confidence in Tiit and his entire team. I'm certain they will deploy this system to an exceptional standard on every show they undertake".
The success of the event was reflected in the immediate feedback from both the Swedish House Mafia production team and the local promoters. "We received top marks from the Swedish House Mafia production team—they told us the sound was a perfect 10 out of 10", concludes Tiit. "The positive impact was immediate. This project represents a step change in performance and sets a new benchmark for event audio in Estonia".
