Well over 100 sound engineers and sound rental companies from as far afield as Brazil, homed in on Wembley Arena for two days of Martin Audio MLA (Multi-cellular loudspeaker array) product demonstrations this month.

The two days were split into four separate sessions. Each session combined a theoretical presentation from R&D director Jason Baird followed by exposure to different optimisation plots, created in the new Display 2.1 software, out in the Arena itself. This enabled visitors to sample the consistency of sound coverage from points on the floor, behind the PA, at the bleachers and at the top of the raked seating in the 12,500 capacity venue. 

Jennifer Warnes’ Somewhere, Somebody was used as a reference track but it was left to acts such as Rammstein to demonstrate the full dynamics and muscularity of the system. 

At one point Baird demonstrated the close controllability by plotting the sound so that it appeared quieter at the hangs, increasing in intensity the further away from the source it travelled.

Stated Martin Audio Director of Sales, Simon Bull, who presented the Arena part of the demo, “This exercise proved to be extremely worthwhile, with both existing and prospective users attending with their own potential clients, and others simply to learn about our Multi-cellular technology and find out what has created such a buzz in the market place.”

The sound was mixed on the opening day by DiGiCo’s Dave Bigg (on an SD10) while on Day 2 Dan Page took over at the helm.