Martin Audio combines WPC, WPS and cardioid control at Daresbury Festival

dBS Solutions provided sound reinforcement for the dance-focused Daresbury Festival, held at Walton Hall and Gardens in Warrington, Cheshire, with Martin Audio systems deployed across all three stages.

The two-day event hosted the Could Be Real tribute festival on Friday evening, followed on Saturday by the Daresbury Festival itself, which sold out and welcomed 8,500 festivalgoers across the site. "It’s a site we know really well," begins Chris Bogg, director of dBS Solutions. "The stage looks immense because it's surrounded by trees; it's nicely tucked into the surroundings and creates quite an intimate atmosphere".

With the main stage capacity capped at 6,500, maintaining audience engagement across the secondary stages proved essential, supported by a strong programme of headline acts on stages two and three.

To meet these requirements, the second stage underwent significant development.

This year, different configurations were tested for the second stage before a 15-by-12-metre structure was selected, which suited the artists' requirements very well. Its dimensions provided ample space for risers and monitors, while also facilitating equipment changeovers between performances, Chris notes.

To deliver the necessary sound performance across the site, dBS deployed Martin Audio systems on all three stages, including Wavefront Precision Series line arrays on both the main and second stages.

The main stage featured 12 WPC (Wavefront Precision Compact) line array elements per side, complemented by 10 SXH subwoofers in a castellated cardioid configuration. Outfill coverage was provided by TORUS T1230 constant curvature arrays, while front fill was handled by FlexPoint FP12 enclosures.

On the second stage, WPS (Wavefront Precision Sub-compact) arrays and SXC118 cardioid subwoofers were deployed in a ground-stacked configuration. "There were DJs performing who had appeared on the main stage in previous years," explains Chris. "Although the audience area was smaller, the line-up wasn't, and the introduction of WPS to this stage made a huge difference".

In the courtyard, an acoustic stage featured FlexPoint FP15 point-source enclosures, complemented by four SX118 subwoofers per side. "Obviously, it was a much smaller system, but we still had audiences of up to 500 people gathered in front of it at a time".

System prediction and optimisation across the site were managed using Martin Audio's DISPLAY software, while the audio team worked with local acoustic consultants to ensure strict compliance with off-site noise limits. "DISPLAY is fantastic. It allows me to position nearby residential properties precisely and accurately predict the acoustic impact off-site", adds Chris.

Acoustic management on-site was equally important.

The cardioid subwoofer arrays in a castellated configuration helped us steer low-frequency energy away from the perimeter while maintaining precise control over the coverage pattern width across the listening area. We applied Hard Avoid wherever we could, particularly behind the stage. Our systems engineer, Oli Chilton, was constantly monitoring atmospheric fluctuations, updating predictions in DISPLAY, importing them into VU-NET and pushing new filter settings to the systems between performances to compensate for changes in temperature, humidity and wind, Chris continues.

The final result has received widespread praise. As Chris concludes: "This year represented a major step forward for Daresbury, and the feedback on all three stages has been fantastic".

Image credits: © Daresbury Festival/New Vision Events