AVNation TV

Tag: Soundvision

  • Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall Delight Touring Artists and Audiences with L-Acoustics K Series Concert Sound System

    Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall Delight Touring Artists and Audiences with L-Acoustics K Series Concert Sound System

    Even if they have never set foot inside the venue, millions of music and movie fans are familiar with the historic Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall, which has hosted awards galas, concert recordings, and film shoots over the past century. Celebrating 100 years in 2026, the landmark venue is now wowing audiences with a new L-Acoustics professional sound system designed and supplied by 3G Productions.

    This state-of-the-art L-Acoustics installation at the Shrine joins a growing network of premium sound systems across AEG’s concert venues nationwide. The audio upgrade aligns with similar L-Acoustics deployments at other mid-sized AEG Presents venues, including the recently opened Pinnacle in Nashville, Atlanta’s 2,300-capacity The Eastern, Brooklyn’s 1,800-capacity Brooklyn Steel, and Boston’s 3,500-capacity Roadrunner. This strategic standardization across properties reflects AEG’s commitment to world-class sound quality and technical rider compliance throughout their diverse portfolio of performance spaces.

    “The Shrine’s top requirements of a new PA were that it deliver both impeccable sound and exceptional coverage,” explains Jerrod Cring, Director of AVLI at 3G Productions in Las Vegas. “Also important was versatility and being able to use the system in all the different configurations that they have in the Expo Hall and the Auditorium. Based on those things, the L-Acoustics system was a perfect fit for them and is performing incredibly well.”

    The sibling venues, located just southwest of downtown Los Angeles next to the University of Southern California, have been managed by Goldenvoice, a division of Los Angeles-based global sports and music entertainment presenter AEG, since 2013.

    The system, meticulously crafted for the 54,000-square-foot Expo Hall with a capacity for 5,000 attendees, was engineered using L-Acoustics Soundvision 3D audio prediction software. Designed with versatility in mind, the system was delivered as a fully portable setup – housed in touring-grade carts and cases – allowing for seamless storage when not in use and effortless relocation to the 6,300-seat Auditorium as needed. “The Expo Hall has hosted everything from a four-day LCD Soundsystem residency to Charli XCX, The SAG Awards, and high profile corporate functions,” Cring notes, highlighting the system’s adaptability across diverse programming.

    For the Expo Hall, 3G Productions designed an L-Acoustics system featuring two main hangs of 12 K2 per side, each with three Kara II for down-fill. “We designed the system with portability and flexibility in mind,” he explains. “The two K2 arrays are hung from motors, just like they would be on a touring show. The motorized rigging allows them to be lowered, secured on carts, and relocated with the same efficiency as a touring production.” The same philosophy extends to the KS28 subs, all of which are equipped with dedicated dollies for mobility. The 15 subs are typically arranged in five clusters of three in a cardioid configuration, with each subwoofer cluster topped by a single Kara II for front-fill. A pair of A15 Focus on either side of the stage provides out-fill under the venue’s deep balcony.

    “On the upper balcony, we provided two rolling chariots with two KS21 subs and an A15 Focus each,” he continues. These versatile units can be seamlessly repositioned as stage side-fills or deployed for outdoor festivals across the Shrine’s grounds – their integrated mobility making them instantly performance-ready.” Halfway back in the Expo Hall, two hangs of six Kara II each provide delay coverage: “These arrays, suspended from motors and supported by bespoke carts, ensure consistent audio quality throughout the entire space.”

    As with a regular touring rig, power is supplied via LA-RAK II units loaded with LA12X amplified controllers. A P1 processor in a drive rack at FOH runs the system, with everything networked over Milan-AVB. “At the same time, we also supplied a DiGiCo Quantum225 as a house mixing console. While our rental division can provide any artist-specific console requirements, this installation offers venues a high-performance mixing solution that is ready for immediate deployment during events requiring streamlined technical specifications.” Cring says.

    The Shrine, a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument on the National Register of Historic Places, has been a global entertainment landmark since 1926. This iconic venue has hosted major televised events, including the Grammy Awards, Academy Awards, and Emmy Awards, as well as memorable concerts by Ray Charles, the Grateful Dead, and Genesis. Film productions, including King Kong (1933) and A Star Is Born (1954 and 2018), utilized the Auditorium’s stage – North America’s largest proscenium, capable of accommodating 1,200 people.

    The L-Acoustics system offers full reconfigurability for Shrine Auditorium shows. “We provided Kara II down-bumpers to extend the K2 arrays for front seat coverage,” Cring elaborates. “Components from the Expo Hall delays can be repurposed as a center-fill of five Kara II.” The Auditorium setup requires fewer subs to maintain clear sightlines. The remaining speaker enclosures can be used for lip-fill and in-fill across the wide stage.

    3G Productions’ roots as a traditional production company have organically evolved into integration expertise,” Cring observes. “Clients seek our integration services because of our deep production knowledge. Our unique position at the intersection of production and integration creates distinctive value – a specialized approach where L-Acoustics has proven to be an ideal partner for both divisions.”

  • World Outreach Church Becomes First House of Worship to Install L-Acoustics K3i

    World Outreach Church Becomes First House of Worship to Install L-Acoustics K3i

    MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Since its very first service on Easter Sunday in 1980, Murfreesboro’s World Outreach Church (WOC) has steadily grown into the full scope of its name. Not only does the Christian house of worship welcome nearly 7,000 regional visitors to its central Tennessee campus for three services each week, but it also averages another 5,000 attending around the globe via live streaming. To ensure that both the message and music delivered in the church’s 2,800-seat Three Crosses Sanctuary are heard with maximum clarity, WOC turned to Clair Global Integration to install the world’s first L-Acoustics K3i loudspeaker system in a house of worship.

    Although the church’s current worship space is only ten years old, the sanctuary’s original sound system was never quite ideal. “The room had some troublesome reflections and their point-source boxes just couldn’t provide the coverage they needed while avoiding putting energy where they didn’t want it,” says Clair Global Systems Designer Joe Anderson. “There wasn’t a cohesive experience across the listening field, which is why we wanted to suggest a line array solution with adjustable horizontal coverage, as it would give us better control and eliminate the need for delay speakers for the upper seating areas.”

    After exploring various loudspeaker manufacturers’ design software platforms—including Soundvision—Anderson says that he and Clair Global Regional VP Dan Heins concluded that L-Acoustics would be the right choice for the project. “Soundvision is one of the best prediction software solutions I’ve used,” he says. “It’s easy to use but still allows for very granular detail. Soundvision was also a very helpful sales tool as we were able to sit with the client and show them exactly what different options would accomplish in their space.”

    World Outreach Church’s new system now features three arrays, each comprising eight K3i, all powered by six LA12X amplified controllers

    Anderson initially considered A15i and Kara IIi based loudspeaker designs but ultimately specified L-Acoustics’ newest enclosure for the project: “K3i was truly the perfect enclosure for World Outreach. It has the physical footprint of a typical double 10-inch line array but gives us the punch and performance of a double 12-inch, which is really what their worship space required. K3i is also super versatile; it had the tonality needed to reproduce classical and orchestral music, but also enough impact to make the audience feel those high-energy contemporary worship moments.”

    Installed in June, WOC’s new system now features three arrays, each comprising eight K3i, all powered by six LA12X amplified controllers. Two stacks of four KS21i subs in a cardioid configuration reside on stage, with two more centered under the stage, while six compact X4i, discreetly mounted into the stage steps, serve as frontfills. The subs and X4i are all powered by three LA4X.

    According to World Outreach Church Production Manager Nic Smith, the triple array arrangement is intentionally not set up as a traditional LCR design. “Based on a recommendation from L-Acoustics House of Worship Application Manager Josh Maichele, we’re running the three-hang K3i system in a Left-Right-Left configuration rather than a Left-Center-Right,” he describes. “Because our room is so wide, this actually helps us give a stereo image to the entire room and allows us to utilize panning without losing a vocal or instrument to one side or the other. It is a simple thing but makes a big difference.”

    Audio Engineer Blake Carman says, “Our new L-Acoustics system has given us so much more clarity and intelligibility.”

    Also making a “big difference” is the full-range performance of the new arrays. “K3i’s low end is very impressive!” Smith marvels. “After Josh time-aligned and tuned everything, he first unmuted just the main hangs and I was so surprised that I had to ask for confirmation that the subs were actually off. He then brought in the KS21, and you could really feel the ultra-low end.”

    Anderson is quick to point out that the deep low-end reach of the system comes at no compromise to the rest of the frequency range’s fidelity. “The system provides great speech intelligibility across the entire seating area,” he says. “And because the system is so smooth, the audio team can run it at pretty much whatever volume they like without harshness or fatigue. Previously, the church had to do some processing on the Pastor’s mic to get the gain-before-feedback needed. After we were done tuning the new system, we had Pastor Allen Jackson stand on the stage and talk, and with absolutely no console processing, it still sounded great. They now just use a bit of light EQ and compression for him, and that’s it.”

    In addition to providing the right sonics and coverage, K3i fits the bill—both figuratively and literally. “L-Acoustics is certainly a premium product, but the K3i system is priced very competitively,” says Anderson. “Plus, the way we were able to configure the system greatly reduced our install time and labor costs. We were able to use all of the existing steel to hang from, and much of the wiring could stay as well. This all resulted in a reduced cost for the client.”

    Although a number of touring sound companies have adopted the L-Acoustics K3 enclosure since its debut in October 2020, WOC marks the first official installation of the new fixed-install K3i version, sans K3’s touring-specific rigging. “We were happy to be the first integrator to install the new K3i but more excited that it was clearly the right tool for the World Outreach and gave them exactly what they needed,” Anderson notes. “L-Acoustics has always been great to work with, and with as tight a timeframe as we had on this project, they really came through with getting us these new boxes in time. Having done other L-Acoustics installs in the past, we knew the sound quality was going to be great, and K3i didn’t disappoint.”

    WOC Assistant Technical Coordinator and Audio Engineer Blake Carman wholeheartedly agrees: “Our new L-Acoustics system has given us so much more clarity and intelligibility. Every word that is spoken or sung, every instrument, and every other detail is reproduced so well by the new K3i arrays. The design and implementation of this system exceeded our expectations and continues to impress me more every week that I mix on it.”

    And the church’s AVL team members aren’t the only ones that have noticed. “It feels like we’re getting comments after nearly every service about how great everything sounds,” adds Smith. “Staff members have told me that they hear details they’ve never heard before, and several longtime attenders who always sit on the far edge of the sanctuary have commented on how they can hear everything much better, especially the Pastor’s sermons. Partnering with Clair and L-Acoustics on this project has been a great experience, and we’re loving the warmth and intimacy we’re now hearing with K3i.”

    For more information on World Outreach Church, visit www.wochurch.org. Clair Global Integration can be found online at www.clairglobal.com/integration.