De Montfort Hall Audio System Upgrade

Historic Venue Upgrades Audio System to Meet Concert Quality Standards

The Audio System Upgrade Process: From System Proposal to Installation

Built in 1913, De Montfort Hall is a multi-purpose arts and entertainment venue that is well known to bands old and new. As well as preserving its history, Leicester City Council, which owns and manages De Montfort Hall, has always kept the venue’s facilities as up-to-date as possible.

The most recent upgrade to the house audio system comprised a line array system plus a control and monitor package, enabling the venue’s technical team to meet the changing requirements of visiting artists. As existing users of d&b audiotechnik and Yamaha, De Montfort Hall’s technical team put together a detailed system proposal, and we were chosen as audio suppliers.

“The venue were very specific in their requirements. They already had a small d&b Q series system and were looking to utilise this as part of the solution.”

Alex Penn – Sales & Systems Integration

Audio System Upgrade: A Touring Package Solution for a Versatile Venue

One of the attractive features of our solution was that the system was supplied as a touring package, complete with flight cases and flying system so the venue’s resident crew can de-rig, store and redeploy the PA as necessary.

“This is something we have done at a number of theatres and concert halls, where visiting artists arrive with their own PA system. If they want to deploy their own system, they can, but we are finding that a properly tuned house system often sounds really good and the feedback we receive is that tours are choosing to use hour integrated system.”

An additional 12 d&b Q1 cabinets were added to the eight already installed in the venue along with four Q7 cabinets, four T10s, eight d&b subs. These are all powered by a combination of d&b D12 and D6 amplification. This has provided the venue with what was outlined in the initial brief.

“The requirement to meet Concert Quality Standards.”

Control & Monitors

We also supplied a full d&b audiotechnik monitor package comprising fourteen d&b M4 wedge monitors and a further two Q subs, again all powered by d&b D6 amplifiers. The existing house mixing console was a Yamaha M7CL. As this had provided excellent service over the years, the decision was taken to stick with Yamaha and upgrade to a CL5 console with three Rio Stage Boxes. This also enabled the venue to upgrade to a digital infrastructure running Dante, with the existing M7CL integrated into the network with the addition of three Dante cards.

“We had the M7CL for a long time and found that a lot of people can use it really easily,”

“De Montfort Hall has always been an essential stop off for rock bands and so we have a lot of the old ‘analogue boys’ coming through. It’s always been very easy to plonk them down in front of the M7CL and get them to use it.”

“Above and beyond the enhanced facilities and flexibility of the CL system, upgrading to it offered us two more major advantages. Firstly, the CL5 is also really easy to learn, so it still doesn’t take long to teach it to visiting engineers, whatever type of console they are used to.”

“Secondly, we have got the best return from the investment we made in the M7CL, because we haven’t had to ship it out. We have added three Dante interface cards and it has slotted seamlessly into the system, where we will be using it principally as a monitor console. It means that we can enjoy many more years of use from it yet.”

Joel Bright – Venue Lead Technician