Peak Sound and Light of Cheltanham, UK recently chose to invest in EAW KF730 Series SLAM line arrays (16 KF730 full-range modules and eight SB730 subwoofers) as the latest addition to its rental PA inventory.
“I’ve been a big fan of EAW for a number of years, and when the need for a new system arose, my first thoughts turned to the SLAM (Small Line Array Module) system from EAW,” says Karl Ashman, managing director at Peak, “the company and products have always impressed me.”
Peak selected the KF730 Series primarily due to its scalability and modular design, Ashman explains. “As a company we work on a wide variety of events—everything from a small conference to large outdoor events—and the system we have bought will give us the capability to cover all of the events we work on.”
Peak was founded almost 30 years ago, but it is the last few years that have seen massive growth in the company. From relatively humble beginnings providing disco and theatre lighting, the company is now involved in a number of large conferences and events all over the UK In fact the EAW system was barely in the warehouse before being shipped straight to central London for its first job—less than a week after it arrived.
“We were asked to provide sound services for the Making our Mark event—a march through central London followed by a concert in Kennington Park—and the system worked perfectly,” says Ashman. “And then just a few weeks later we were at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool for the Assemblies of God conference. It just goes to show the diversity of the system. One week we are in a field for 3,000 people, and the next we are inside a conference hall for 2,500.”
The system works in conjunction with another recent purchase, a pair of Litec D30 Flying Towers that are “a perfect match,” according to Peak General Manager Stu Petersen. “The system works equally well when ground stacked, or flown—it’s very easy to fly, so that is our preferred option.”
But it isn’t all about the system itself. Peak also joins the ELAN (EAW Line Array Network), which will lead to more opportunities both for networking with other EAW owners as well as collaborations on future projects. This has been further enhanced by the recent B4 Roadshow educational tour of Europe, which was attended by Ashman as well as FOH engineers Dave Cleaves and Dan Keating.
“We were impressed by the forward thinking nature of the team at EAW, particularly their focus on the end user,” concludes Ashman. “It’s great to see the advances that the company is making, and I hope that this is the first step in a life-long partnership”