MedellÃn, Colombia – July 2010… Held on May 17th, the Pentecostes 2010 outdoor event drew thousands of attendees from all over Colombia. It was particularly notable this year-do, in part, to the robust sonic performance of a sound system drawn from the Aero Series 2 catalog of Valencia, Spain-based loudspeaker manufacturer D.A.S. Audio.
Evento Totales and FrancoSound (owned and operated by Jader Montoya and Amilkar Franco respectively) are two well-known sound companies in the Colombian professional audio sector. Both firms service the live sound/pro touring market and also operate equipment rental divisions. Together, they pooled their talent and resources to assemble a high performance sound system that made this year's event among the most memorable in recent history.
Amilkar Franco—with assistance from associate Reynaldo Flores—oversaw the selection and installation of the equipment for this year's event and also handled various sound engineering responsibilities. The D.A.S. Audio loudspeaker system they designed consisted of 46 Aero 12A self-powered, 2-way, mid-high line array elements, 12 LX-218A powered high performance subwoofers featuring dual 18-inch long excursion transducers, and 8 Aero 50 3-way, large format line array modules.
For Pentecostes 2010, the main PA system included 12 D.A.S. Audio Aero 12A's per side in a left-right configuration, flown at a height of 8 meters. Additionally, the left and right delay towers each consisted of 8 Aero 12A's while 4 D.A.S. Aero 50 enclosures were ground stacked on each platform at the North and South extremes. For on-stage sidefills, the sound setup included 6 Aero 12A line array modules—flown in two groups of three each at the sides of the stage area. D.A.S. Audio LX-218 subwoofers provided plenty of low end punch for this massive loudspeaker system. The LX-218A's were arranged 6 units wide and two units high across the front of the stage area.
Amilkar Franco discussed the audio challenges his team encountered on this year's Pentecostes 2010. “Outdoor sound is always difficult,” he said, “because interference from traffic and other nearby sources interferes with the PA—so it's extremely important that the sound system have ample power and that the loudspeakers enable you to accurately control the dispersion of the system. The D.A.S. Audio Aero 12A's and 50's have broad horizontal dispersion and long throw, so we were able to very effectively provide even, controlled coverage throughout the area. There wasn't a single zone where you couldn't hear clearly.”
“The fact that the majority of the sound system was self-powered was another important consideration,” Franco continued. “By not having to transport racks of power amplifiers, we were able to contain the weight of the system during transport and cabling was quite a bit easier. These considerations—along with D.A.S. Audio's first rate, captive hardware—made the entire project far more manageable.”
Evento Totales' Jader Montoya, who served as the event producer, reflected on this year's Pentecostes 2010. “The D.A.S. sound system we deployed handled everything without so much as a hiccup,” Montoya reports. “Prior to the event, we consulted with D.A.S. Audio and their technical support staff was extremely responsive and helpful. We received numerous compliments on the sound from the organization involved in the day's festivities, and especially from the principal speaker. The sound was clear and highly intelligible throughout the entire area. This year's program was a huge success and I'm very appreciative of all the hard work by the crews of both my company and FrancoSound. Together, we helped create a truly memorable day for everyone.”
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