Former Westlife frontman hits the road with Flare Audio, Lab.gruppen

Ex-Westlife singer Shane Filan has just completed his debut solo tour of the UK and Ireland, backed by a touring speaker system from Flare Audio.

The set-up for the tour – the first to feature Flare’s X5 line array – included six X5As and four Q18 bass units per side, powered by Lab.gruppen PLM20000Q four-channel DSP amplifiers. With the experienced Steve Levitt in charge of production, Filan travelled to 18 cities around the UK and Eire in total, finishing up in his home city of Dublin on Friday (March 14th 2014).

Supported by Orbital Sound, the manufacturer’s exclusive distributor for the UK and Ireland, the Flare Audio rig is a compact system built for a multitude of venues.

“I am really excited by this Flare Audio system on several levels. Not only is it just about as pure a sound as you can get, but it also delivers outrageous pressure levels and clarity," said Levitt.

"We have worked this system hard during this tour, and after some tweaking with the electronic pre-sets, it lets me do exactly what I want. If I use equalisation now, it’s to correct the room, not the box, and the imaging is amazing – move the pan pot a notch or two and you can really hear it. It’s a very clever sound, with louds of power, and I wouldn’t hesitate to tour it again.”

The X5 Series has been designed for maximum scalability, and can be deployed as a single unit for point source applications, ground-stacked small arrays, or large-scale hangs of up to 22 units. According to Orbital, the system combines a compact size and high definition natural sound with "excellent throw characteristics and controllability."

Offering a slim panel design and integral flying system, the X5 was created as a cost-effective option for rental firms, and a fast-rigging system that takes up minimal truck or storage space, while the Q18’s produce a "deep directional bass" to complement the X5 speakers.

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