NoiseBoys Technologies Ltd., a pro audio and acoustics consultancy based in Lutterworth, Leicestershire, England, won the coveted contract to supply and install a state- of-the-art sound system -- after the discovery of King Richards’s bones in a car park opposite the cathedral by archaeologists in 2012. This event sparked a massive refurbishment program, including a complete overhaul of the cathedral’s AV system.
"The challenge was to offer a more innovative approach, one that not only sounds great but that also visually complements the new aesthetics of the cathedral."
—PHILL BEYNON, Technical Director, NoiseBoys Technologies Ltd.
The loudspeakers are by Pan Acoustics and feature unobtrusive and reportedly acoustically excellent Pan Beam steerable column arrays, with JBL CBT 50 columns in the side chapel areas. The control system is BSS Soundweb, and is designed to be capable yet simply presented to its users, most of them non-technical staff or volunteers. Day-to-day control of the Soundweb is achieved via a touch-screen tablet, allowing users to tap once to set up the entire cathedral, but more advanced users to mix services live. By using AKG radio microphones and Crown amplification, NoiseBoys was reportedly able to tie everything together and monitor the whole system from the control tablet, from amplifier temperatures to RF levels.
Microphones specified are AKG’s DSR-700 radio microphones with DPA D:Fine 66 headsets, all monitored from the touch-screen, as well as some ambient mics for recording and relay to the back of house areas. The whole system is connected using a variety of cabling options by Van Damme from VDC Trading. The 3.5km of cabling includes assemblies of dual Cat 6, coax, HD-SDI, blue and white line signal cables, 90% of which is hidden under floors and in ceilings.
Phill Beynon, technical director at NoiseBoys, comments, “When we were successful in winning the contract, as a local company we were delighted and naturally very proud to play a part in such a unique set of proceedings. It was a tough selection process, and we had some very strong competitors. The challenge was to offer a more innovative approach, one that not only sounds great but that also visually complements the new aesthetics of the cathedral. The outdated system that we replaced was not fit for [its] purpose; loudspeakers had been added to over the years and none were ever removed, so we’ve been taking out some genuine antiques."
NoiseBoys has replaced 20 loudspeakers with nine new ones and improved the sound tremendously, according to the company. Reducing the number of speakers and using cutting edge technologies has meant that we have minimized the impact on the fabric of the Grade 1-listed building. Phill continues, “The installation uses steerable array speakers which we have used to digitally direct the sound only to where it is needed, minimizing reflections and maximizing clarity. Each loudspeaker delivers a pleasing natural speech quality, yet the sound still arrives at the listener with a blend of the cathedral’s space and acoustics. We’re really pleased with the Pan Beam arrays, which have the added advantage of taking power, data and signal down any old two-pair cable, meaning that we only had to get one feed of tiny signal cable to each speaker."
Phill reports that the company was also impressed with the new levels of detail achievable with the Soundweb, running Audio Architect as the programming and operation software. "From one tablet device we can monitor and control the audio, the amplifier parameters, and all radio mic data, including battery and RF levels. We were keen to avoid using expensive third-party controls, and using Audio Architect has allowed us to do that, saving the client literally thousands of pounds," he says. "All of our programming is in-house, so we also gain the added advantage of being flexible to changes and software tweaks without incurring expensive programming bills.”
King Richard was first laid to rest in 1485. His new resting place in Leicester Cathedral allowed the NoiseBoys to put the new system through its paces when the cathedral hosted some of its biggest events ever. Using the majority of the newly installed system, but with an in-house Yamaha QL1 at the controls, all major events will be covered. The services themselves will include prayers from the Rt. Hon. Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, and his Eminence Cardinal Vincent Nichols Archbishop of Westminster. There will be open-air services; live television and radio broadcasts to a global audience of millions; lectures, art exhibitions and book launches; flower festivals; concerts of medieval music; and the first ringing of a new peal of bells composed for King Richard. The culmination of the celebrations happens Friday, March 27, 2015, with a firework display from the cathedral roof.
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