Red Rocks Mixhalo app

Red Rocks responds to petition over introduction of headphone tech for fans

Red Rocks has responded to an online petition that was started after the iconic Colorado venue suggested that fans use wireless headphones and a smartphone app to listen to listen to live music.

Ahead of a Kygo concert last week, Red Rocks invited fans in Row 40 and up to bring wired headphones and download the Mixhalo app in order to “listen to studio-quality, in-ear audio straight from the soundboard”.

The suggestion received a mixed response, with some unhappy fans setting up a change.com petition.

The petition made the case for the Rock Rocks “decibel limit” to be repealed, saying: “Recently, Red Rocks has suggested people bring headphones from home, to connect to their cell phones using an app that connects their phones to the music being played live. This is unacceptable.”

The petition, which has more than 17,000 signatures so far, appears to blame the venue’s decibel limit for the introduction of the new Mixhalo technology, saying that the noise ordinance is “detrimental to the Red Rocks experience we all know and love.”

Red Rocks confirmed that the current decibel limit was agreed in 2016 and has been in place ever since. It also denied the suggestion that the trial of the new tech was related to the venue’s sound quality or noise limits. 

Red Rocks issued a statement, saying:

“Red Rocks continues to have the same acoustic quality that fans have experienced for more than 80 years. To be clear:  no change has been made to sound limits at Red Rocks since 2016.

“At that time, and after months of study, decibel limits and curfews were revised (and had nothing to do with “sound ordinances”). Since then, literally hundreds of EDM and other artists have played Red Rocks, and millions of fans have loved those shows – without most of those artists coming close to the venue’s self-imposed decibel limits. A balance was reached in 2016, and to suggest that sound somehow changes annually just isn’t true

“Those of you who attended Kygo’s show last week would’ve seen an invitation to test the Mixhalo app. In an attempt to control the test and not interfere with the venue’s bandwidth, Red Rocks suggested the app was available to those above Row 40. That suggestion had absolutely nothing to do with the show’s awesome sound quality as was suggested.

“Instead, Mixhalo is an optional enhancement to the fan experience – for those interested, it provides sound directly from the soundboard to fans’ ears. And, with some shows, audiophiles can tune in individual instruments such as a lead guitar. Importantly, Mixhalo has relevance for those wanting clearer sound who may have experienced hearing loss.”

Mixhalo was co-founded by Incubus guitarist Michael Einziger and is designed to deliver high quality audio direct to fans.

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