News
The specs, upgrades and facts about the sound system of our main room
At RADION, open for over five years now, we highly value our sound systems. But for those who know a little bit about sound engineering; a system is only as good as its engineer. It’s all about the guy who installs, alters and tweaks it. That’s why we thought this would be a good time to tell you all a bit more about him. Sadly he doesn’t share our view, as he doesn't enjoy being in the spotlight himself, and so we’ll just give you the specs, upgrades and facts about our various systems.
Curated by Frits Zanen, co-owner of RADION Amsterdam.
Visualised by Lisette Stokkel.
RADION Main room
The base of the main PA system is the VOID Stasys Touring set consisting of four VOID Stasys5 MK2 and two VOID Stasys3 MK2 cabinets per side. Designed specifically for demanding live performance applications, the Stasys 5 Mk2 expands the boundaries of low frequency sonic bombardment. Suitable for use on the largest tours or in the biggest arenas, the Stasys 5 mk2 utilises numerous innovations to produce low frequency output with previously unheard of impact. One such innovation harnesses some of the energy that would normally be dissipated in the rear chamber; this is accomplished by firing the transducer onto an aluminum pressure plate. The plate's restoring force is then reflected back onto the transducer, resulting in a substantial increase in transient response and efficiency. Using an actively driven element with a passively fed radiator, with gain, has analogies to a bass or kick drum, where one of the two heads is hit whilst the other is tuned to a different frequency. To gain the most from this arrangement a specially designed transducer with an asymmetrical offset suspension has been implemented. As with all premium Void enclosures, the use of resonance mapping has resulted in an extremely rigid structure with very low colouration. The output power-to-weight ratio is near the theoretical limit with the overall weight being one of the lightest in the industry. And finally, the Stasys 5 Mk2 uses Coolwave™ technology to reduce thermal compression to an absolute minimum while ensuring that consistently high output levels are maintained throughout the longest performances.
Depth : 775 mm
Depth : 30.51 in
Height : 860 mm
Height : 33.86 in
Impedance : 8 ohm
Width : 586 mm
Width : 23.07 in
Maximum Output : 135 db cont, 140 db peak
Efficiency : LF : 105.6 dB 1w/1m
Driver configuration : 1 x 18" neo
Product Weight : 53 kg
Product Weight : 116.84 lbs
Warranty (Length/Type) : 3 years
Minimum Frequency Response (Bandwidth) : 38 Hz
Minimum Frequency Response (Bandwidth) : 0.04 kHz
Maximum Frequency Response (Bandwidth) : 160 Hz
Maximum Frequency Response (Bandwidth) : 0.16 kHz
Speaker Diameter (Driver) : 457.20 mm
Speaker Diameter (Driver) : 18 in
Power Handling (Low Frequency) : 1200 Watt
The Stasys 3 mk2 mid hi touring enclosure is designed to give system operators a quick and simple solution to large scale sound reinforcement. Each enclosure comes with multiple point flyware, allowing quick system setups and accurate arraying. The design is the distillation of a lifetimes work. Most of the technology incorporated in the mk2 version has never been attempted before and is a radical departure from the norm. At the heart of the design is the ‘waveformer’. Sound waves enter the horn at varying distances from the transducer via the centrally mounted ‘waveformer’. The distance depends on the frequency and also the radiation pattern of the transducer. New types of transducers were developed that emit different frequencies from different locations around their radiation surface. All these locations are then channelled to the ‘waveformer’ and emitted at a precise distance down the horn. The benefits of wave forming are enormous. All frequencies reach the mouth at exactly the same time so phase cancellation is virtually eliminated. This provides an extremely flat and uniform response with a very wide bandwidth available from each band. Dispersion characteristics are radically improved due to the ‘waveformers’ refraction grid, which reduces HF beaming by a significant amount. The mk2 version also incorporates a 2 way passive - 3 way active selector, further enhancing setup flexibility. All Stasys enclosures are designed to be used with our Livedrive 4 in 8 out system controller.
Depth : 775 mm
Depth : 30.51 in
Height : 815 mm
Height : 32.09 in
Width : 775 mm
Width : 30.51 in
Maximum Output : 135 db cont, 140 db peak
Driver configuration : 1 x 12" : 1 x 6.5" : 1 x 1"
Product Weight : 48 kg
Product Weight : 105.82 lbs
Splay Angle Maximums : 45 degrees
Splay Angle Minimum : 35 degrees
Warranty (Length/Type) : 3 years
Minimum Frequency Response (Bandwidth) : 120 Hz
Minimum Frequency Response (Bandwidth) : 0.12 kHz
Maximum Frequency Response (Bandwidth) : 20000 Hz
Maximum Frequency Response (Bandwidth) : 20 kHz
Impedance (High Frequency) : 8 ohm
Impedance (Mid Frequency) : 8 ohm
Impedance (Low Frequency) : 8 ohm
Power Handling (High Frequency) : 80 Watt
Power Handling (Mid Frequency) : 200 Watt
Power Handling (Low Frequency) : 500 Watt
Net Weight : 48 kg
Net Weight : 105.82 lbs
But our sound engineer of course tweaked this system, he bypassed the factory filters of the top cabinets and now drives the separate speakers inside the cabinets individually to create a stereo 5-way system. The system is powered by a 2-way Powersoft M30D amp, delivering 1650W@4Ohm to the 12” lows of the top cabinets. Two Powersoft K8 amps running at 4Ohm 3000watts per side for the sub. The top cabinets are powered by a 4-way Powersoft M28Q amp delivering 4Ohms 1000W per side to the 1,5” high speakers and 1000W at 4 Ohms to the 6” mid high speakers. To control all this power going to the speakers we put in a symetric jupiter 8 processing system. This can be accessed from the FOH through a LAN connection for real-time tweaking.
But that wasn’t enough, still we missed the punch in the low/mid section (80Hz-160Hz). That’s why we took a front loaded double 15” cabinet per side and stuck it between the lows and the tops, delivering 2000 watts of extra punch per side, the kind you feel in your belly. In the same process we changed the setup of the subs and flipped them 180 degrees to throw the bass horizontally across the room instead of vertically. In addition we changed the processing of the sub (DBX processor) so the inner two cabinets are slightly delayed relative to the outer ones. A cardioid setup to push the low frequencies to the middle of the dancefloor. For the infills on the stage (behind the dj) we’ve got a nameless 2-way cabinet per side. These speakers are also tweaked and are now 2-way amplified by a NewhankD2000 4x 800W at 4 Ohms.
To top it off on the balcony there are the delay speakers: 1 EAW 600i speaker per side and 1 EAW SB650R subs per side. This system is processed through an EAW MX8750 processor and 4-way amplified by a combination of Crest and QSC amplifiers with a combined power of 4000W per side. The DJ monitor set consists of an EAW FR159 and an EAW SW600 sub per side, powered by a Powersoft M50Q delivering 1250W@4Ohm to the subs and 750W@8Ohm to the tops.
Then since we are more or less in the same area, De Benedenkamer, our former smoking room turned into a secret area beneath the stage of the main. This 60 square meter room with the old auditorium steps still intact and very low, beamed ceiling (2,20m)is fitted with its own dj booth and is now RADION’s coziest, most sweaty room. We stuck a full EAW 600 set (one sub and one top per side) 2500w per side delivered by a combination of QSC and Labgruppen amps to avoid any music from the main flowing over. Of course we’ve also tweaked the system especially to the room with a Xilica XP4080 DSP processor. The whole system can be used stand alone or as an extension of the main room. All in- and outputs are routed through the front of house mixer in the main room (Yamaha 01V).
Next time we’ll tell you about the system of De Bovenkamer...
