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Tag: concert venue audio

  • Movistar Arena Buenos Aires Invests in L-Acoustics K Series and L Series for Argentina’s Premier Concert Venue

    Movistar Arena Buenos Aires Invests in L-Acoustics K Series and L Series for Argentina’s Premier Concert Venue

    Nestled in the vibrant Villa Crespo district beside Buenos Aires’ Estadio Don León Kolbowski football stadium, Movistar Arena stands as Argentina’s largest dedicated concert venue and the country’s second-largest indoor arena. Since opening in 2019 under the management of ASM Global, the 15,000-seat facility has built a reputation as the go-to destination for international touring productions in South America. To uphold that standing, the arena recently upgraded its production infrastructure with a new L-Acoustics K and L Series concert sound system, supplied and integrated by local Certified Provider Distributor (CPd) EXOSOUND.

    An Arena Purpose-Built for Live Music
    “Although we can accommodate sporting, theatrical, and corporate events, this arena was specifically designed to host large-scale live music concerts and is almost exclusively used for that purpose,” says Movistar Arena Buenos Aires Production Manager Gustavo Perezlindo, who has served the venue in that role from its start. “In 2025, we hosted approximately 260 concerts, and we’re already projecting to reach 280 this year, so we maintain a very ambitious schedule of international, regional, and local productions here.”

    That busy show roster is quite diverse, including not only recent pop tour stops by Sting, Rod Stewart, and Kylie Minogue, but upcoming performances from artists of many genres. Shows by Dream Theatre, Jonas Brothers, Martin Garrix, Rosalía, Rubén Blades, Fatboy Slim, Helloween, 5 Seconds of Summer, Robbie Williams, Zayn, Die Toten Hosen, Eros Ramazzotti, and Rush are on the venue’s concert calendar, and all are currently expected to use the new L-Acoustics sound system.

    “Movistar Arena’s management was already well acquainted with L-Acoustics before the retrofit. “From the beginning, we had K1 and K2 in here through an external contractor,” Perezlindo recalls. “Based on that system’s strong rider acceptability and the consistent audio quality we’ve enjoyed over the past six years, it was a straightforward decision to stay with the brand and purchase our own L-Acoustics system.”

    Working in Concert with a Range of X Series, A Series, K Series and L Series
    Perezlindo worked closely with EXOSOUND Commercial Director Julio Levinsonas and L-Acoustics Latin America Application Project Engineer Alex Soto on the final Soundvision design. The arena’s new loudspeaker setup now features left and right main arrays of 12 L-Acoustics K1 over four K2, paired with out-fill arrays of three L2 over one L2D per side. Flown behind each of the K1 arrays are eight KS28 subs hung per side in a cardioid configuration, bolstered by 16 more ground-based KS28 in eight stacks of two across the stage face. For front-fill, 20 Kara II are positioned in ten stacks of two across the stage lip.

    Out in the house, four L Series hangs supply delay reinforcement to the upper bowl seating areas. Lower underbalcony sections are addressed by ten A10i Wide, five per side. Thirty-four compact X6i coaxial systems further provide audio to the arena’s suites, rounded out by five A10i found in the VISA Lounge at the back of the bowl. Down at the stage, two A15 Focus over one A15 Wide flown per side, plus one KS28 per side on the deck, serve as full-range side-fills, with a collection of X15 HiQ available for use as onstage monitor wedges.

    Ten LA-RAK II AVB loaded with 30 LA12X amplified controllers drive all K1, K2, KS28, and A15 enclosures, while seven LA-RAK III AVB loaded with 21 LA7.16 amplified controllers power the L Series and Kara II. Three more LA7.16i drive the X6i and A10i suite speakers, with two LA4X serving the lower underbalcony A10i Wide systems. The entire system is run over a Milan-AVB network “for reliability and robustness,” Perezlindo describes, with redundant P1 processors and LS10 AVB switches utilized on the front end.

    The Right Team and Tools for the Project
    “With the assistance of logistics specialists Grupo Operadores, we were able to import the equipment from France and install and calibrate the system with L-Acoustics’ support on schedule,” says EXOSOUND’s Levinsonas. “The new system delivers consistent fidelity and coverage throughout the venue. Whether audiences are in the upper bowl, under the balconies, or in the suites, VISA Lounge, or Club Casino, they experience the same uniform sound quality. With this investment, Movistar Arena has reinforced its commitment to providing touring productions with a world-class technical platform and positioned itself as one of the best equipped large-format venues in Latin America.”

  • L-Acoustics L Series Concert Sound System Brings New Life to Venerable Warfield Theatre

    L-Acoustics L Series Concert Sound System Brings New Life to Venerable Warfield Theatre

    “The Warfield.” That’s all you need to say in touring circles. Like “The Garden” in New York, these venerable venues are known by their nicknames, like old friends. And just like the artists that grace its stage, the Warfield Theatre, which opened in San Francisco in 1922, has worked at staying at the top of its game. That ethos was reinforced yet again this past July when the AEG Presents-affiliated venue installed its new sound system, L-Acoustics L Series, designed and integrated by Petaluma-based UltraSound, in conjunction with Certified Partner distributor Rat Sound Systems.

    This is the first time in 17 years that the 2,300-seat theater has refreshed its live sound. UltraSound Director of Operations Josh Osmond says the L2/L2D and other L-Acoustics components were chosen based on sonic quality as well as their thorough coverage capabilities, assuring great sound in every part of the venue. “We’ve been putting sound systems into the Warfield since the 1980s, so we know the room very, very well,” he says. “And I can say that this is the best this space has ever sounded.”

    What patrons experience there now is a system comprising three L-Acoustics L2 over one L2D per side, with a single A15i Wide flown as a central front-fill. The L Series arrays are supported by six KS28 subs per side, flown in a cardioid configuration and hung behind each main array, plus four more KS28 per side, configured in two stacks of two directly below. Between them, dotting the lip of the stage, are four low-profile Kiva II deployed as front-fills.

    Underbalcony seating is addressed via five A15i Wide loudspeakers spread out and individually mounted to the ceiling. And anyone in the lobbies during shows won’t miss a note, thanks to a pair of coaxial X12 on the lower level and a pair of X8i on the upper floor. The entire setup is powered by LA7.16i amplified controllers driving the L2/L2D arrays, LA12X that drive the subs and underbalcony fills, and LA4X that power the front-fills and lobby reinforcement systems.

    “Every seat in the house is now completely covered,” says Osmond, who, in addition to his role at UltraSound, serves as front-of-house engineer for both the Lumineers and John Legend.

    “Sonically, it’s a traditional theater, with the typical challenges a steep balcony presents. You need to cover up to the top of the balcony with consistent coverage all the way to the back, while also making sure you’re covering underneath, so you don’t have any ‘shadows’ under there.”

    One of the bigger challenges, he explains, is achieving uniform low-frequency control from the floor to the back of the balcony. “L Series gave us just that. It’s very directional, so it’s not bouncing off the walls; it’s really focused specifically on where it needs to cover. In conjunction with the flown subs behind the main arrays as well as the ground subs, it delivers a consistent target curve from the back of the room to the front of the house. There is simply no bad seat anywhere.”

    Although the main L2/L2D arrays are the obvious stars of the show, Osmond also praises the A15i Wide enclosures for their specific roles. “When you’re under the balcony, you’re essentially trying to extend the coverage of those main arrays,” Osmond explains. “You want to keep the tonal qualities and characteristics consistent, which definitely came into play in deciding the right product for the under-balcony areas. As you get into the front-fill locations, you’re bringing more vocal intelligibility to the very first few rows—the seating area where the main arrays don’t quite wrap down.”

    The five A15i units provide everything the under-balcony needs, while the center A15i Wide plus four Kiva II front-fills add coverage to that critical barricade line the main arrays can’t quite reach. “Every speaker has a specific job to do here,” Osmond notes, “and each one performs it perfectly.”

    Not surprisingly, artists passing through the Warfield since the new L-Acoustics system was installed have noticed the change, starting with Nigerian-American Afrobeat artist Davido and Americana darlings the Red Clay Strays, the first two touring artists to experience it. “Both of them were very impressed with the sound of the system and the room, and commented on it,” says Matt Albrecht, General Manager at the Warfield Theatre. “That kind of diversity was a great kick-start for the new system and reflects how it can handle any kind of music. Everyone who’s heard it now comments on the clarity of the sound, and how it stays clear even as the volume increases. ‘Loud and clear’ is a great way to describe it—the sound, even for the loudest shows, feels clean and controlled.

    “L-Acoustics L2 is a great amenity for the artists who play here, and it helps further set us apart when it comes to attracting those artists.”