Sound designer Nick Lidster won the 2025 Olivier Award for Best Sound Design for Fiddler on the Roof. It was performed at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre and he is now revisiting his technical solution to meet the requirements of a new venue, this time indoors: the Barbican Theatre.
Unlike most conventional proscenium theatres, the Barbican uses chain hoists to hang the PA system, and its preferred solution is the line array. Fortunately, sound provider Autograph offered Lidster the latest technology in the form of d&b’s CCL (Compact Cardioid Line Array) system.
The new CCL System, which includes d&b’s renowned directivity control in its most compact line array to date, proved to be the ideal solution for sound designer Nick Lidster at the Barbican Theatre.
Lidster was very pleased with the idea of using this system, as he had already had a very positive experience with XSL, the smallest member of d&b’s revolutionary SL Series.
I used the XSL cardioid system in the United States and really liked the extra dynamic range in the radio mic system before feedback. It also sounded great. So when Autograph offered us the new CCL system for ‘Fiddler on the Roof’, which was to be staged at the Barbican, I was eager to try it out, he explains.
The CCL system represents the evolution of d&b’s excellent directivity control and cardioid performance embodied in the SL Series, now available in a more compact, lighter, and efficient system, suitable for a wider range of applications in smaller or more intimate venues. Lidster was confident this new system would provide the control he needed to ensure clear and consistent sound coverage throughout the auditorium.
And not only that, the CCL System also achieves, for the first time, this directivity in a passive design, allowing for greater amplification efficiency. "With the CCL system I can use one channel of the D40 amplifier to drive two cabinets", he comments, "which is much more efficient for a theatre PA system and also for Autograph as a sound equipment rental company".
This efficiency meant that the two main clusters, each with 16 CCL loudspeakers, were powered with just two d&b D40 4-channel amplifiers per side, two cabinets per channel. As a long-time d&b customer, the Autograph team required very little technical assistance from the manufacturer and only contacted them to obtain a 3D CAD file of the Barbican Theatre using d&b’s ArrayCalc software. Thanks to the intuitive features of the d&b Workflow, Lidster had everything he needed.
The two main arrays, each with 12 CCL8 cabinets (80° dispersion) above four CCL12 (120° dispersion), are complemented by an additional central cluster of four CCL12 for downfill plus LF reinforcement with six CCL Subs. Finally, a selection of d&b Y7P cabinets and the wider-dispersion Y10P point source cabinets were positioned on the gallery truss system and in lateral fills, completing the desired consistency for the audience.
The system’s cardioid performance offers real advantages. In this production, Lidster uses a mix of miniature boom and lavalier microphones for the 27 cast members.
The attenuation at the rear of the PA system really helps to even out the differences between them. To some extent, it manages to balance the differences in level and clarity between the two types of microphone systems, explains Lidster.
"I think the new HF driver and the overall sound of the CCL System arrays are very natural and I have needed very little CPL to get the sound I wanted", adds Lidster, referring to the Coupling control function for line array correction in d&b’s ArrayCalc software. "The CCL System cabinets also ‘hit hard’ when needed. It feels like everything was thought through when creating this product".
And, of course, the CCL System also offers the practical benefits of d&b’s System reality approach, which includes carts and mounting hardware for flying the loudspeakers. "Production sound engineer Larry Golland told us that CCL is great and with rigging that is easy to set up and hang", explains Lidster. "They also look great and are the right size for this venue".
