L-Acoustics’ Kara Lets Blue Man Group’s Colors Shine Through In Sunny Florida

Most recently, that venue upgraded its sound system to an L-Acoustics Kara system, provided by Clearwing Productions’ Phoenix office. The system upgrade in Orlando follows one in Las Vegas, which saw an L-Acoustics K2 rig installed at Blue Man Group’s new home at the Luxor Hotel and Casino.

“The Kara system has been an excellent move for Orlando,” says Blue Man Group Sound Supervisor Marcus Ross, who is responsible for Blue Man Group’s audio in all of its appearances worldwide, and who just returned from setting up the Blue Man Group World Tour, which kicked off in Singapore at the Marina Bay Sands resort. “The Florida venue had unique acoustic challenges and the L-Acoustics system has been a great solution.” 

The house sound system now features nine Kara enclosures per side, in addition to three SB18 subwoofers per side. These flank a five-box ARCS II center cluster, while 5XT coaxial enclosures are used for front fills, with an ARCS Wide enclosure on either side for outfill. L-Acoustics 12XT boxes are additionally installed around the sides and rear of the room as surround speakers, and LA8 and LA4 amplified controllers power and process the entire system.

“In Orlando, we were able to install a system that gave us highly accurate representation from left to right, and the 12XT surround system gives us extremely interesting mix opportunities with the ability to image some very nice ambient soundscapes,” Ross describes. “The great part is that the sonic signature of each L-Acoustics speaker is so well matched that we don’t have to worry about the signal sounding different as we move audio zone to zone. The dead acoustical nature of the soundstage was previously a challenge. We needed a system that was able stand on its own since what you heard was speaker and not a combination of speaker and room reflection.”

“What this system design accomplishes is to get total coverage of the room and allow movement of the sound from front to back and side to side,” he continues. “It’s a full surround sound system and you get incredible localization of the sound throughout the show.”

The new Kara system also revealed how much coloration the show had accumulated, as the previous system had compelled various adaptations and accommodations over time. For instance, once the new system was installed, it became clear that the microphones were adding unnecessary timbre to the sound. This led to the switch to more transparent condenser microphones, which offer the kind of fidelity the unique percussion instruments developed for the show require to shine.

In addition to the new L-Acoustics sound system, Ross notes that Blue Man Group’s Orlando production also installed a new DiGiCo SD10 console.

“Combined with the SD10, the L-Acoustics system sounds amazingly clear,” adds Ross. “It’s been truly reinvigorating for the show’s sound. Everyone can hear everything now, from the stage to the front-of-house position. The detail is amazing. There’s no such thing as a bad seat in this house.”

About L-Acoustics
Founded in 1984 near Paris, France, L-Acoustics is a leading manufacturer of turnkey solutions for the professional sound industry. With 320 team members, 20 percent of whom are dedicated to R&D, L-Acoustics is present in over 75 countries either through subsidiaries or via a network of certified distributors or providers.

Recognized throughout the industry for pioneering the modern line array, L-Acoustics offers a total system approach for both the touring and fixed installation markets, and a product line responding to the needs of venues from the most intimate club to the grandest arena. L-Acoustics sound systems can be heard in places like the Hollywood Bowl, the NBA Houston Rockets Toyota Center, or the Philharmonie de Paris. L-Acoustics solutions have been used at seven of the world’s ten top-grossing festivals*, the London and Sochi Olympics, and on the Foo Fighters Sonic Highways World Tour, among others.