TCU Place, a convention centre and performing arts complex located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, is home to the first permanently installed Meyer Sound TIGRA™ line array system in Canada.
The new system, supplied by GerrAudio, Meyer Sound’s Canadian distributor, and installed by Canadian integrator Sapphire, serves the Sid Buckwold Theatre, the venue’s main hall, which has a capacity of 2,074 people.
The Meyer Sound M’elodie system it replaces served the theatre exceptionally well for many years. When the time came to plan its replacement, Technical Services Manager Devin Ferguson and Head of Audio Nicholas Hayes focused their search on current-generation technologies.
Requirements guided the search for a manufacturer
We took the brand out of the equation. Our design process began with an approach based on 'this is what we need the system to do'. We spoke to different manufacturers about the designs to ensure that we would get everything we needed, Ferguson explains.
Array pattern control was a requirement from the outset. According to Hayes, several manufacturers offered it to some degree, but "with the TIGRA enclosures, we have that cardioid control within the main array itself, which was very appealing to us".
What ultimately determined the choice was the breadth of capabilities that TIGRA integrates into a single enclosure. "With TIGRA, we see the entire ecosystem that Meyer Sound has been working on for years: low-mid frequency pattern control and Milan AVB connectivity", he says. "In addition, with TIGRA incorporating Meyer Sound’s GEN-1 platform, with those integrated DSP and networking capabilities, together with Meyer Sound’s Nebra software platform, we gain much greater control and more information about how the system is performing. It ticked all the boxes: it offers an ideal balance of size, weight, power and fidelity. I don’t think we will ever see the limiter indicator light up".
Physical constraints reinforced the decision. "It is a very lightweight enclosure", Hayes says. "That makes it much more feasible to install it in a wider range of locations and, thanks to the weight savings, we were also able to opt for a longer array".
Collaboration shapes the design and installation
GerrAudio worked alongside Meyer Sound and Sapphire on the system design. Sapphire led the installation after carrying out a technical site visit in early January.
"It was a very close collaboration", explains Ben Burrell, a partner at Sapphire. "We met several times to review the project and work together on the design, adjusting it according to what we considered most suitable. Then, once onsite, we made several decisions together and achieved the performance TCU Place was looking for".
Ian Robertson, GerrAudio’s Manager of Technical Services and Industry Training, tuned the system during the second week of the installation.
What I like about Gerr is that ongoing dialogue about what you are looking for in a product and how to align the solutions with those needs. They also follow up and ask which workflows or other methods have worked for you. Sometimes, as an end user, you find a different way of doing something, and Gerr has always been very receptive and has done a fantastic job of sharing that knowledge, Hayes says.
Meanwhile, the M’elodie system continues to be used for events held in TCU Place’s approximately 9,662 square metres of configurable convention space.
Covering the entire venue without delay systems
Each side of the main system comprises 12 TIGRA-L loudspeakers and two TIGRA-W loudspeakers. The TIGRA-W units are flown as the bottom elements of the left and right arrays. Behind the main arrays, 2100-LFC™ low-frequency control elements are flown in a cardioid configuration.
Six ULTRA-X20™ point source loudspeakers positioned on the stage serve as front fills; two ground-stacked ULTRA-X42™ point source loudspeakers act as out fills; and three ULTRA-X22XP™ point source loudspeakers per side provide reinforcement for the loge seating area, resolving the coverage gaps in those seats.
"We managed to cover the theatre without using delay systems, which I think is quite incredible", Burrell says. "The higher enclosure density gives us more control and better coverage".
A network design for a venue with a busy programme
Two Galileo® GALAXY Network Platforms, one GALAXY 816 and one GALAXY 408, are positioned at the front end of the system. Robertson suggested dedicating one platform to each side of the arrays.
"This way, if a processor were ever to fail, we would have a failsafe system that would allow us to continue with the show", Hayes explains. "We don’t expect to end up in that situation, but if we have a plan B and a plan C in place, everything is easier for everyone if a problem occurs".
The array is fully redundant over Milan AVB and also features an analogue backup connection. Touring crews arrive at the venue with their own consoles.
We placed the two GALAXY units at the front end of the system to receive signals from any consoles we need, whether via Milan AVB or analogue connections. We now have several locations throughout the venue where we can patch them in. This makes life easier for Nick and for the touring crews when they arrive. We no longer have to say, 'Let me think about how we can do that', but instead, 'Of course we can do that. Give me three minutes and it will be ready', Ferguson explains.
Meyer Sound’s IntelligentDC technology powers the fill systems in the loge seating area through a single cable carrying both power and signal.
"It is the perfect system for installing fill loudspeakers in locations like this", Hayes says. "It has been a fantastic journey so far", Hayes concludes. "The system has exceeded expectations. TIGRA delivers things that I have never heard from other P.A. systems. The fidelity and coverage in the Sid Buckwold Theatre are better than ever and, in addition, we have improved the sightlines. I am therefore looking forward to the next twenty years with this new Meyer Sound TIGRA system and the GerrAudio team".
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