D&b provides the sound for performances held at Sónar Village

d's ArrayProcessing tool&b Audiotechnik responded to the acoustic challenges posed by the main stage of the performances held at Sónar by Day 2015, framed in a closed area, surrounded by high walls.

Sonar It is a festival that lasts three days with differentiated programs in day and night. Offers electronic and experimental music alongside more contemporary performances, like Duran Duran and Chemical Brothers, or the current rise of EDM artists, like Skrillex and DJ Fresh.

In this year's edition, held in mid-June in Barcelona, It was used as the main stage for Sónar by Day performances, Sonar Village. An enclosure that is inside what looks like a fortress, surrounded by high walls, which has posed a great challenge to the company in charge of installing the audio infrastructure, Tour Services. “But what emerged from all this allowed us to verify the great potential of the new ArrayProcessing tool from d&b Audiotechnik that we wanted to use here”, explained Josan Bravo, system technician.

The technical director of the festival Pedri González supports Bravo's enthusiasm: “The location of our festival is perfect for an urban venue from an infrastructure point of view.”, transportation and public convenience and safety, but the issue of sound has always been difficult”.

The Sónar Village public area is wider than it is long. The main system reaches 60 meters and the width of this area is about 140 metros, but the sound only covers 75 metros. at the request of the Sónar organization. The surrounding buildings are part of the Barcelona Fair complex and have a height of 20 meters on average. The building directly in front of the stage also has large areas of glass on the facade.

This year, Tour Serveis has provided systems d&b for two live music stages and the J Series has been used for the main Sónar Village stage.

“The technical directors placed a lot of emphasis on addressing the negative influence of architectural reverberation, so we direct the system in the correct position and take advantage of the benefits that ArrayProcessing offers to keep energy away from the back wall. This tool has proven to be an excellent enhancement to the audio experience for the audience and an optimal experience for the work of the audience mixer. (FoH) and the artists who perform on stage. ArrayProcessing gave us the potential to control the vertical dispersion of the system and allowed us to cover the audience area correctly all the way to the back and, besides, eliminate reflections from the rear wall”, continues Josan.

Josan Bravo had the collaboration of Jonas Jones Wagner, from the Training and Support department to users of d&b, and with the assistance of Juanma de Casas, from the Spanish office of d&b, “We configured ArrayProcessing for a large reduction in SPL to 55 meters from the stage. If you listen to the system from the stage without ArrayProcessing, It's like having a mirror in front of you that reflects the audio, “With him that reflection disappears.”.

In this project the J Series has been used for left and right, and Series V for the sides. All bass were in floor stacks and arrays., in a mix of J-Sub and J-Infra. As Josan explained, “we proposed a large broadband cut in the last meters just before the rear wall and applied two adjustments of -20dB and -40dB. This allows the FoH team to adjust it based on the number of people who attend during the day.. We also apply some cutting to the main area during the day, because the reflections from the floor could also increase and reach and be reflected on the rear walls. But it only took one cut -20 dB for the afternoon, when there was more public”.

For the Sónar festival, according to Josan Bravo ArrayProcessing has been decisive. “Avoiding reflections on the back wall has launched a sound concept of a new level. “It allows what the sound engineer hears in FoH to be heard by the audience in the same way.”.