Powersoft provides fairground sound in California

Speeda Sound, supplier of production sound, backline, communications and other equipment to fairs across California has purchased 18 Powersoft K3 DSP+AESOP power amplifiers.

The company has deployed the amps in a compact, two-rack stage monitor package after an evaluation process verified that the K3s could withstand the sort of harsh environmental conditions faced by the Speeda Sound team on a regular basis.

"We put the K3’s into every environment that we could – heat, cold, dust, rough terrain, you name it," said Mike King, president and founder of Speeda Sound. "Never once did we find a situation where they overheated or anything. Not once did they fail, from the day we put them in the racks."

We needed something really compact that has a lot of power. Weight was also a consideration. The K3 weighs 27 pounds and is just one rack space, plus it has all the digital processing built in, with control of parameters and presets."

The size and weight were important issues, as the 18 amplifiers needed to fit into two racks of a three-rack package that could fit under a Yamaha PM5D or Avid Profile digital console. "The whole thing can be strapped together and rolled away in a matter of seconds," added King.

"I’ve been doing this for about 34 years full time, and I’ve tried some amplifiers that didn’t work in our environment. They just wouldn’t hang in there – it was too cold, or too dusty, or there were too many demands on them. The Powersoft amps have been nothing but phenomenal in all departments. They look great, they sound great and they perform great. I don’t have anything but praise for them."

The California state fair circuit has attracted major names in music entertainment over the years, including Snoop Dogg, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Blue Oyster Cult, Journey, Big and Rich, and Martina McBride.

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