AVNation TV

Tag: performance venue

  • Louisiana Performance Venue Upgrades to Crest Audio Versarray Pro System

    Louisiana Performance Venue Upgrades to Crest Audio Versarray Pro System

    Located in the heart of Lafourche Parish, the Warren J. Harang Jr. Municipal Auditorium is one of southern Louisiana’s premier live entertainment venues. With seating for more than 4,500 guests when configured for floor seating, the venue regularly welcomes concerts, cultural events, graduations and community gatherings, placing significant demands on its audio infrastructure.

    For large community venues that host such a broad range of events and performances, sound reinforcement must deliver consistent performance regardless of what’s happening on stage. That was the challenge facing the Municipal Auditorium in Thibodaux, Louisiana, when it set out to replace its long-serving first-generation Crest Audio Versarray system with a modern solution capable of meeting today’s production expectations.

    Having relied on Crest Audio’s original Versarray system for many years, the venue chose to continue its partnership with the brand by investing in the latest generation Versarray Pro platform.

    The project began more than eighteen months before installation when Hoffman Music was approached to design a replacement system. While the project timeline was extended as the venue prioritised a significant upgrade to its air conditioning infrastructure, planning continued to ensure the new audio system would be ready once work could begin. Working alongside Hacksaw Productions and HellFire Rigging, the decision was made to remain with a Crest Audio system.

    James ‘Hacksaw’ Dugas, owner of Hacksaw Productions, commented: “Here at Hacksaw Productions, Crest Audio sound reinforcement is well known to us and we have experienced it on tour. Their new Versarray Pro product line is so versatile and easy to work with that it makes perfect sense to utilize it in a venue such as the Municipal Auditorium. It’s just so versatile – from speech and community gatherings to full blown concerts it just sounds great.”

    The resulting design centered around 20 Crest Audio Versarray Pro 112 line array modules, complemented by six suspended flying Versarray Pro 215 subwoofers and two floor-mounted Versarray Pro 218 subwoofers to deliver exceptional low-frequency performance throughout the auditorium. The system was carefully engineered to provide powerful, even coverage across the entire audience area while offering the headroom required for today’s demanding touring productions.

    Before shipment, every loudspeaker underwent detailed inspection, programming and testing by the Crest Audio engineering team, ensuring the system would perform exactly as designed once installed.

    The project was a collaborative effort involving multiple departments across Crest Audio. From engineering and quality assurance through to logistics and warehouse operations, every stage of the project was coordinated to deliver one of the most versatile Versarray Pro installations completed to date.

    “This installation has been a true team effort,” explained Scott Hoffmann, from Hoffman Music. “From inspecting and programming every cabinet before it left the factory to coordinating logistics and supporting the installation, everyone played an important role in making this project a success.”

    Beyond delivering dramatically increased output and coverage, the installation also represents an important milestone for Crest Audio. Typically, the Versarray line has proved popular with live event, stadium and concert applications. To see and hear this latest deployment demonstrates the scalability of the platform for major performance venues while reinforcing the confidence that existing Versarray customers continue to place in the brand’s next-generation technology.

    By combining proven line array performance with modern system design, the new installation ensures Warren J. Harang Jr. Municipal Auditorium is equipped to support the next generation of concerts, touring productions and community events with powerful, consistent audio for every seat in the house.

    Chris Goodwin from Crest Audio said: “We at Crest Audio were honored to work with Hoffman Music, Hacksaw Productions, HellFire LLC riggers and the great city of Thibodaux, La. in designing and providing the Versarray Pro system for the Warren J. Harang Auditorium.”

    Reflecting on the initial discussions surrounding the project’s potential, he added: “I remember when Scott Hoffmann first approached me about this project, he said “They want it loud but clear, they want power but they also want control, can we do this?” My reply: “We can build a system that will knock a hole through a brick wall for them and will drive like a Porsche 911”. While working on this system I often referred to it as ‘A Big Beautiful Beast’. Well, the Big Beautiful Beast has been awoken in Thibodaux!”

    Final word goes to Kevin Clement, Mayor of Thibodaux, Louisiana, who spoke of his delight on hearing the new project up and running in the communal hub of his town: “This installation has completely transformed the auditorium, providing exceptional sound quality with incredible clarity for every event. Whether it is a concert, rodeo, Mardi Gras event, graduation, community function, or a special performance, our visitors will immediately notice the difference. This investment ensures that the Harang Auditorium continues to be a premier venue for our community and the region. We are thrilled to partner with Crest Audio and thank them sincerely for their expertise, attention to detail and professionalism.”

  • Jersey Opera House Purchases DiGiCo Quantum338T for Newly Refurbished Venue

    Jersey Opera House Purchases DiGiCo Quantum338T for Newly Refurbished Venue

    The 125-year-old Jersey Opera House (JOH), located in the Channel Islands just off of France’s Normandy coast, recently benefited from a 12-million-pound refurbishment, reopening after a five-year hiatus with a gala performance in October 2025. In the last few months, the JOH has reestablished itself as an outstanding live venue, delivering sellout performances from greats like Gilbert O’Sullivan to children’s favorites like Horrible Histories, with dance, comedy, and cinema also thrown in. Technical Manager Chris Wink explains how a generous benefactor donation for equipment facilitated the purchase of a brand-new Quantum338T, supplied by Stage Electrics, adding to their existing DiGiCo SD9 and securing the future purchase of a Quantum112.

    “We were lucky enough to benefit from huge generosity, so we now have a fantastic Quantum338T and are developing a cutting-edge d&b loudspeaker system,” he expands. “The Quantum338T will position us perfectly as we begin to produce more work in-house and is a natural fit for the caliber of artists that visit the JOH. We are really investing in equipment and people since our building project finished. Many of our visiting shows already use DiGiCo, so the Q338T helps with our workflow, making setups much easier.”

    In a five-year-long, government-funded construction project, the entire structure of JOH has been upgraded and repaired. The final upgrades were to the theatrical equipment, including full lighting and sound systems. The Quantum338T was chosen thanks to its trio of 17-inch, high brightness screens and large console surface area. With 156 input channels, 72 busses, and a 36 x 36 matrix, the Quantum338T is built for complex shows and is exactly what JOH needs.

    “The Opera House started 1900 as a replacement for the Theatre Royal,” Wink continues. “Over the years it has had many refurbishments, but in 1997 it was taken back to its original form, and we have updated and safeguarded that work. It’s a beautiful, historical building, but we are looking to the future with modern works being commissioned, including a brand-new opera, pantomime, and dance. The Quantum338T is proving essential because of our varied workflow and the speed at which we change shows.”

    The DiGiCo “T” software upgrades the standard Quantum338 with a variety of added features, including increasing the matrix from 24 to 36 with individual Nodal delays and aliases on each channel. When coupled with the ultra-flexible 32-bit SD cards and an Optocore loop, Wink gains a level of agility that has enabled him and his team to deliver crystal clear sound, regardless of the genre of the show. As he continues, it is the ability to make the racks whatever you need them to be that makes the DiGiCo ecosystem so appealing.

    “The SD-Racks being able to be whatever you need, wherever you need it, via hot-swapping cards is essential,” he continues. “We also use Orange Boxes within the system, once again adding more flexibility, certainly for Dante inputs and outputs, and personal monitoring requirements. Because of the unique nature of our venue, we often end up taking multi-track recordings, too. Software-wise, we’ve really noticed the impact that Mustard and Chilli processing has, it felt like a big change from our SD9.”

    With a varied repertoire it is often the shows that need the most subtle reinforcement that require the most care. For his next project, Wink is focusing on subtle reinforcement, where the clarity of the JOH DiGiCo and d&b combination will subtly incorporate sound effects and musical elements in a way that could not be achieved with a different combination of equipment.

    “The quality of the preamps in the 32-bit cards delivers a level of finesse that is not present with other brands,” Wink concludes. “It’s about having a system that’s powerful and punchy enough to deal with any rock or pop artists that come over, but also be quiet and clean enough to deal with the subtle reinforcements of a spoken word play, or an opera. There are times where you need a sledgehammer and there are times that just need a little file, and the DiGiCo Quantum338T does everything!”