#kv2 audio

Set within the grounds of Balmoral Castle amongst the stunning scenery of the Scottish Highlands, a concert to celebrate the Queen's 80th Birthday took place on Friday 30th June 2006.

The concert, the brainchild and put together by George Walker Events to raise funds for the Anthony Nolan Trust for Leukaemia, featured a north of the border flavour - Fiona Kennedy, The Scottish Fiddle Orchestra, The Graham Geddes Scottish Dance Band, Mass Pipes and Drums, Celtic Scottish Dancers, the highlight of the evening being a stunning performance by renowned classical singer Katherine Jenkins. Presented by BBC2's Ken Bruce, the concert was attended by a crowd of over 5,500 people and lasted over a 5 hour period, including a spectacular fireworks display and an air display by the 2Excel Blades aviation team.

Harrogate based FT Audio Visual Ltd provided the sound and light production with owner Rick Lawson at the helm of the KV2 Audio VHD sound system. As an experienced user of KV2 speaker systems the decision to utilise their new VHD system was not a difficult one. Lawson heard the VHD system at the recent Frankfurt Pro Light & Sound exhibition this year, where it featured in the Live Sound Forum outdoors in a comparison to competitor's line arrays.

Lawson commented "In Frankfurt the VHD system was stunning; I've never really heard anything quite like it, clarity, coverage, it was all there and it's so physically small in comparison to other systems. I knew instantly it was the system to use for Balmoral".

The VHD speaker system is a very high definition, active driven, large format audio system for touring or fixed installation applications. The cabinet line up consists of the VHD 2.0 mid high cabinet and three different subwoofer modules - the VHD 4.18, the VHD 2.15 and the VHD 1.21.

System control and amplification comes from the VHD 2000, a rack mounted controller/amplifier system specifically designed to actively drive the VHD 2.0 cabinet. It also contains control functions for the system and subwoofer signal routing to feed the VHD 3200 subwoofer amplifier. The VHD 2000 is the world's first system with proprietary digital signal delay technology using DSD components providing a 6 MHz sampling rate.

Nominal dispersion for the VHD 2.0 is 80 degrees horizontal and 40 degrees vertical. A Left and Right version of the speaker is offered in order to create larger format vertical arrays of the mid high system. When two VHD 2.0's are arrayed vertically, horizontal dispersion is maintained while vertical dispersion is lowered to less than 10 degrees. System response is 25 Hz to 20 kHz depending on the subwoofers selected.

After consulting with Andy Austin-Brown of KV2, it was decided to utilise a system configuration of just two flown VHD 2.0 mid/high cabinets per side and a ground stacked mix of four VHD 4.18 subs and two VHD 2.15 subs per side, powered by a total of 8 VHD amplifiers.

Lawson recalls arriving on site for the first time "When I arrived, I was not surprised to see and hear the expressions of several of the experienced event organisers questioning the supposed small amount of PA that appeared to be available, however this quickly changed to acceptance and wide smiles once the system was switched on and the first sound checks came through. In fact the only problem we encountered during sound check was a bit of 'slap-back' off a mountainside over a mile away! So we turned it down a little!"

Throughout the evening the system was monitored to ensure that the coverage was maintained during the seemingly constant increase in audience numbers, making the expected listening area ever wider and deeper. Nevertheless, the organisers were happy to report that not one single complaint had been received from the paying public with regards to the sound..inverted praise indeed!

KV2 Audio products are distributed in the UK by KV2 Audio UK from new premises in Harrogate, details as follows:

The Famous Corner house in Middlesbrough, owned by Ladhar Leisure has undergone a major refurbishment including the upgrading to KV2 of the Main Club sound system.

As the first installation Worldwide of the new EX 12 cabinets, launched at Plasa, this was a real opportunity for Jonathan Reece Farren from KV2 to put them to the test. "It was in at the deep end for the EX 12, offering full range rear dance floor support to a very powerful front left and right ES system. Even having tested the units over the last few months and hearing people's comments at Plasa, it was still reassuring to see the box hard at work, producing incredible levels in such a clean and dynamic way".

Running alongside the new Kv2 Audio EX 12's are ES 1.0's / ES 1.8's FOH, and KV2 Audio EX 10's for the bar and peripheral areas.

A challenging room acoustically, built underneath the old railway arches. Yet again the KV2 system performed brilliantly straight out of the box, without the need for hours of set up and Equalisation.

Reece- Farren continues "We love peoples comments about the huge sound produced by our systems, but the danger is that with the exceptionally low inherent distortion the uninitiated are sometimes encouraged to push it to extremely high pressure levels, levels which are not only dangerous to the paying customers, but where many other systems would fold in half and collapse. Fortunately the low distortion characteristics of our system offer an equal benefit at lower operating levels and, with DJ education, this helps create a very balanced sound no matter what type of music is played, or at what operating level".

Having run for the last five years successfully on the Fussion Dance system, a previous incarnation from the KV2 Design team, everybody was confident that the KV2 system would truly offer an upgrade path of both quality and reliability. Owner Barry Ladhar had been concerned by pending changes in the law on acceptable noise levels for audiences within bars and Clubs.  Barry comments "Our concern is obviously customer safety and enjoyment as well as the quality of the sound, but we needed to ensure that the right atmosphere was created in all areas. It helps having a system that delivers exceptional clarity and coverage, even at low volumes, and looking forward, with the set up at the corner house, everything is now in place to follow any changes in legislation as they arrive"

Operating seven nights a week, the new interior design was complimented with an upgrading of the Martin Professional Lighting system, as well as a new Allen and Heath DJ mixer, and a Show Magic Lighting controller.

A final word from KV2 Audio's Jonathan Reece-Farren

One of the most famous festivals in the north of England, Manchester Mardi Gras, enjoyed an upgrade to their evening celebrations this year courtesy of KV2 Audio. At the Uni Challenge, held in six rooms of the Manchester Academy 5000 people crammed in for performances from God's Kitchen, House Works, Federation, Heaven and Homo.

It was a chance to preview the new KV2 Audio VHD (Very high definition Sub) running alongside the four stacks of ES 1.0's, 1.8's and ES 2.5's. The only word to describe the Bass as was "AWESOME" said a very happy organising committee.

KV2 Audio are a name becoming synonymous with high quality, very high energy Dance systems, and their systems feature at the monthly Federation nights where 1500 clubbers descend on Granary Wharf in Leeds.

Shaun Wilson, of the organising committee wanted to offer the same quality of sound experienced at the Federation night's, but understood that Mardi Gras was on a larger scale, and there was an initial apprehension that the compact KV2 boxes would deliver everything that was required for such a large prestigious event.

"In reality it delivered more than we could have hoped for" said Wilson

Terry George, A.P.N. Director and T.V personality added enthusiastically  "The whole night was a huge success, we received so many brilliant comments about the sound, I felt very proud"

The upgrade was an easy decision to make for Shaun Collins of Installation Company 52nd Street who supply the Audio Visual requirements for the festival's evening celebrations each year.

"You couldn't normally fit the PA for a 5000 person dance event in the back of a sprinter van. Even more remarkable the set up time, lack of additional processing required, and despite my continued work with KV2 systems, I was still genuinely impressed at the levels of clarity, volume, coverage, and bass we achieved from just four stacks of this system"

To match the performance of the front of House system, Dj monitoring also needed a special treatment. To that end the EX 10's were enlisted and immediate thumbs up from the DJ's followed.

As Tony Walker commented "Unbelievable quality of DJ Monitoring"

When David Phelps put together a deal securing the future of the Po na na chain of night clubs he inherited a mixed bag of technology from state of the art, to slightly questionable, in amongst his Audio visual systems. With music playing such a vital role in the success of their brand, David enlisted the help of Installation Company 52nd Street to advise on the best way forward, Shaun Collins of 52nd Street takes up the story.

"David had several venues on the table that he felt needed a lift and looked to us for guidance in ensuring the customers, DJ's and promoters were kept happy, whilst the shareholders money was spent wisely. There was a cross section of traditional Po na na basement style venues and a couple of larger open space clubs".

From an Audio point of view, David already had a long standing relationship with Jonathan Reece-Farren of KV2 Audio through his previous installation company Funtime. However, been the consummate professional he put good will aside and insisted on a demonstration of Jonathans proposed system in a venue of his choice.

That venue was Hammersmith Palais, David felt this would be a good place to put the KV2 Audio system through it's paces. There was an initial apprehension as the KV2 system was flown, physically dwarfed by 28 boxes of a Nexo Alpha e system alongside. In replacing it with only six stacks of the more compact KV2 ES system, the management and promoters were interested if not slightly nervous as to what the results would be.

"At 2500 capacity everything tells you that these small speakers should not be enough", but having spent the last twelve months facing similar challenges KV2's Jonathan Reece-Farren was quietly confident. As the Palais' promotions and events co-ordinator, Atif Malik put it "Our sound proof Glass Bar isn't sound proof anymore, the system sounds great"

Most noticeable was the exceptional coverage and clarity, enough to convince David Phelps that the next step was to immediately begin installations of the KV2 Audio system at those venues in greatest need.

First on the list was a successful site in Cheltenham, known as the Fez club where the management and promoters pride themselves on bringing in top name DJ's. They needed a system that would be immediately accepted by some of the world's best.

Po na na's Alice Greaves comments on the end result " We are now confident that these clubs truly offer the very best sound equipment available when booking world class DJs."

As part of the improvements some intelligent lighting, comprising Martin Professional MX4 scans, Wizards, and acrobats were also fitted, controlled by a Pulsar 216 masterpiece replay unit.

One satisfied manager down, and the 52nd street team moved on to Bristol where the Drum and Bass night had been putting untold strain on the previous house system. More importantly, the DJ's had been trying to mix with virtually no monitoring, SCARY.

Shaun Collins again " David, like many operators, has a dislike of large and obtrusive DJ monitors, until KV2's EX range came out there was very little available in a compact cabinet that would provide the clarity to separate out intricate parts of a mix, but take the punishment associated with the title of " DJ Monitor".

On the main dance floor, the throw capabilities of the ES system enabled us to replace the four existing Mid highs with a single ES 1.0 left and right, four ES 1.8 Sub Bass cabinets and an EX10 as DJ monitor. Epak 2500 amplification and control modules ensure that everything will keep running for many years to come.

As the third part of their hat trick the 52nd street installation team had to adapt a slightly different approach, as they were summoned to a local council meeting, prior to making proposals for the new system in Bath.

Bath Fez club has a long history of noise problems, and whilst many have tried to improve the situation, success had been limited until now.

In a radical re-think of how the club operates, Shaun Collins, David Phelps, and Steve Thick of Po na na, looked at a solution that involved not only redesigning the sound system but also moving the dance floor area and peripheral bar areas to refocus the energy away from Party walls.

For Shaun's part, several meetings with the Council gained the approval for the new audio scheme which utilises the compact KV2 EX10 speakers running full range but suspended on specially manufactured sound absorption brackets. Shaun elaborates "The EX 10's are very flat, and have amazingly predictable and reliable dispersion characteristics, all of which makes them an ideal solution for dealing with noise problems".

A single EX 2.2 sub, mounted on a Neoprene mattress provides some support in the lower end, but all in a very controlled way.

On the loudspeaker management side, an XTA DP 224 ensures that even the most enthusiastic of DJ's can do little to upset the perfect balance of crystal clarity on the dance floor, and the sound of silence in the next door flat.

December saw the first installation of a KV2 ES system for the Edwards chain courtesy of Orritt Electronics in Liverpool. Trialling a concept dubbed "Club Edwards" they wanted to enhance the existing sound system at their Liverpool venue, with some thing that would still look discreet, but allow them to compete on a more equal footing with some of the legendary Clubs in the city.

After an extensive look at the market place Dave Orritt, of Orritt Electronics realised KV2's ES system would be the perfect product for this application, and immediately arranged a demo.

The clients didn't take much convincing, and within a few weeks their concept turned to reality.

From a practical point of view the amplifier room was a long way from the Speakers and since the initial 1st fix, many walls had been plastered and cable routes blocked off. The flexibility of the Epak amplification leant itself perfectly to this scenario, whereby all the amplifiers and processing were able to be sited very neatly 18ft above the ground in a stair well, local to the speaker positions.

Oritt's Dave Orritt commented "There would have been nowhere to site a 19" rack without having to pull the building apart and run long lengths of cable. The Epak's design solution saved the day and I really began to appreciate the philosophy and sheer flexibility of this product"

A series of refurbished 18th century warehouse buildings, Lucorum is an interesting concept of a venue that is a shopping centre / Café by day, restaurant/ Bar by mid week night, and a full on Club at the weekends.

Being given the brief of a very discreet speaker system that would not look out of place in the afternoon tea-room setting, but have the necessary power to satisfy several hundred clubbers on a weekend represented no mean feat for Yorkshire based installers 52nd street. But Having heard the KV2 system at Plasa, EX was unanimously chosen as the right product for the job.

In an almost Alfresco environment, but with a glass roof and stone walls, the acoustics could be described as, at best challenging; but by carefully positioning four Ex 10 speakers and adding the weight of two EX 2.5 double 15" active subs, reflections and subsequent issues of poor intelligibility were minimised. Whilst waiting for the first deliveries of EX product last month Shaun had provided a temporary, larger format Club system for the Weekend nights. This consisted of four processed "better known brand" boxes with 15" and 2" along with four horn loaded 18's underneath, all run off Crown amplification.

That in itself set a precedent for both quality and level but from the first switch on of the Ex system there was a real sense that something special had happened with the music stepping up to a whole new level. Shaun comments that people have stopped him in the street, as Barnsley is his home town, to ask if he was responsible for the New sound system at Lucorum. He adds "I'd like to take the credit, but at the end of the day it's about as plug and play as you can get, George and the team have just produced another great sounding system, it's incredible for the size"

KV2 audio's, almost legendary ES system found it's way into Hammersmith Palais, London in mid October, courtesy of the team at 52nd street, Barnsley, England.

Looking for an improvement in overall quality and coverage the original house system had comprised 12 stacks of Nexo Alpha e, installed five years ago. Physically the Nexo Dwarfed the KV2 system, and In replacing it with only Six stacks of the more Compact ES system, the management and promoters were interested if not slightly nervous as to what the results would be.

"At 2500 capacity everything tells you that these small speakers should not be enough, but like so many other KV2 experiences, the reality was a Jaw dropping, word eating one" said KV2's Jonathan Reece-Farren

As the Palais promotions and events coordinator, Atif Malik put it "Our sound proof Glass bar isn't sound proof anymore, but the system sounds great"

The biggest improvements were in coverage, and clarity, particularly important for the multitude of events that the Palais host on a weekly basis. For the less discerning an increase in overall level, and stomach churning tightly controlled bass were order of the day on the Dance floor, not to forget the ultimate " DJ proof" limiting system that claims to temper even the wildest Anthem spinning speaker sadists.

Over the following two weeks the system was used for Student nights, General Club, as well as the famous School Disco, Asian Music Awards, and Carlton T.V awards.