Martin Audio is something of a national treasure. Currently celebrating its 50th anniversary, the pro audio specialist is renowned globally for its professional speaker systems, and recently won The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation for its Wavefront Precision series.

But the company’s offerings go far beyond live event enclosure design. It’s as at home supplying innovative installation solutions for houses of worship and high schools, as it is to furnishing audio systems for massive music events.

US-based installation company Sacramento Production Services (SACPS) turned to Martin Audio to install a premium WPS PA at the River City Christian Church (above, picture credit: Marisa Morton) in Rancho Cordova, California. The church needed to upgrade its facilities due to a surge in attendance. When the decision was taken to move from flat seating to stadium style arena seating, a big audio rethink was required.

Martin Audio’s proprietary DISPLAY software modelled the room, to ensure optimum performance. The solution was an all-new design utilising eight elements a side, in two PA hangs spread 12m apart, so that they could frame a huge LED video display. Five SXC118 subwoofers were placed in an arc across the front, powered by six channels of iKON iK42 amplification.

“The ability to custom build a system and tailor it to your building without having to boost anything is scarcely believable,” enthused Brian Webber, the church’s Director of Technology.

In Australia, Martin Audio’s award-winning MLA Mini loudspeaker array found a home at a leisure development in Rosenthal Park, a suburb of Sydney.

Integrators Xcite Audio Visual, with support from local distributor Technical Audio Group (TAG), installed an MLA Mini array in a bandstand stage. The PA consisted of a Left/Right hang, with eight MLA Mini per side, and two MSX subs flown behind the arrays. The challenge was to manage sound dispersion, so as not to disturb the surrounding residential area.

The installation team needed to get the SPL to fall off as quickly as possible at the end of the speaker zone. This was achieved by using the Hard Avoid function in the software. Problem avoided, performance guaranteed.

Meanwhile in Wisconsin, a high school was wrestling with a vintage sound system. Sonic salvation for the Falls Area Performing Arts Center also came in the shape of Martin Audio’s Wavefront Precision Mini (WPM) line array.

AV integrator Camera Corner Connecting Point needed the new PA to cover a seated audience of up to 700, and serve high school musicals as well as more staid presentations.

The solution, offering a wide horizontal pattern, was the versatile WPM, which was compact enough to hang from a truss, so it didn’t impact on the lighting system.

The chosen design comprised five Martin Audio WPM elements per side, with one SXF115 subwoofer flown above each array. Two SX218 subs were positioned at the proscenium opening to round out the bottom end for more audio intensive events, while four Blackline X8 speakers served as fills across the front of the stage.

While the arrays are permanently hung, the ground subwoofers and lip fills could be moved when necessary.  Driving the whole shebang were Martin Audio iKON amplifiers: one iK81 assigned to each array, in single-box resolution, and an iK42 for the subwoofers.

The School’s Network Manager, Brandon Olsen, praised the quality of audio: “With the flexibility of flown arrays, floor subwoofers, and stage centre fills, we now have the ultimate confidence in the quality of what each member of the audience is hearing.”

The lauded Mini WPM line array also found employment in Azerbaijan, with installer PROAV specifying the speakers at the Agstafa Agro Industrial Complex in Agstafa City.

This multifunctional event hall was a challenge because of its unusual shape, but Martin Audio took this in its stride. The main system comprised eight WPM per side, powered by Martin Audio iKON iK81 amplifiers. In addition, 12 Blackline X15 stage monitor speakers were installed.

The pastor at the Celebration Church in Lakeville Minnesota, was left singing the praises of Martin Audio too, after DP Design of Milwaukee designed a sound system based on the Wavefront Precision Mini (WPM) line array.

Built in the nineties, the church was looking for an upgrade able to offer concert-level sound. The system had to serve bands as well as speech, and extend well beyond the stage.

Eight WPM boxes, positioned each side, coupled to Martin Audio iK81 amps, with four SX118 subs built into the stage. One Martin Audio XD15 per side was reserved for outfills, with a CDD15 in the centre handling the pastor’s mic.  Leaving nothing to chance, four CDD6 were set into the stage for front fills for congregants seated up front.

The church’s two main entrances also had CDD5TX-WR’s on the exterior perimeter and Martin Audio C8.1T ceiling speakers in the tall lobby atrium, while C6.8T went into the restrooms.

You may not expect live event products to work in a cinema environment, but you’d be wrong.

When the MARC Theatre in Salt Lake City was transformed from indoor sports facility to a 564-seat movie theatre, it quickly became a hit on the Sundance Film Festival.

But with digital projection taking theatrical visuals to the next level, it was time for audio to follow suit. Enter a Martin Audio WPC scalable resolution line array, deployed in a 7.1 configuration.

Six WPC hangs were used for the Left/Centre/Right channels and each had an SXH218 for lower bass.  A separate SXH218 provided the dedicated bass and a further 12 CDD-Live 12’s were used for Left/Right and Left Rear/Right Rear surrounds.

“With Martin Audio’s help we knocked it out of the park. We received numerous compliments on the audio, and everyone was blown away by how well the room sounded,” declared technical project manager Dan Beedy.