Emerson College?s Cutler Majestic Theatre expands existing EAW system

The Cutler Majestic Theatre, located at Emerson College, has expanded its existing EAW sound system by adding a number of the company’s loudspeakers to the current set up.

AV systems integrator Boston Light & Sound was brought in to design and install a PA system for the historic venue back in 1999, utilising a pair of EAW®MQ1364 MF/HF Array Loudspeakers on either side of an MQTD412 LF Array Loudspeaker with a single MQ1394 below and JF290z’s for L&R Orchestra fill. At the time, with the theater’s balcony closed, the system provided complete coverage of the venue’s main-floor and mezzanine seating areas. In 2003, when the balcony was reopened after extensive reconstruction as part of the theater’s 100th anniversary, additional EAW AS690e fill speakers were added for balcony coverage, based on a consultant’s design.

However, in the summer of 2011 it was decided that the balcony required additional PA coverage, primarily due to the less than optimal architecturally dictated location of the balcony fills. To achieve this, Boston Light & Sound was called upon to replace the centre cluster with ten EAW NTL720 compact, self-powered, three-way line array loudspeaker modules. These provide full coverage of the balcony’s first several rows, as well as the rest of the venue.Two EAW SB1001 Subwoofers extend low frequency response when required.

“It’s pretty amazing when you think about it,” said Mark Rowinski, systems design engineer at Boston Light & Sound. “All the components matched perfectly,” noting that when they did final measurements of the system, every point in the room was within +/-2dB of each other. “The entire EAW system performs very, very well and the coverage is completely even throughout the house. And it sounds fantastic. It’s got that EAW sound that sounded great in 1999 and still sounds great today.”