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Metropolitan Museum of Art upgraded with Martin Audio

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City has transformed the sonic experience of its historic Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium with a Martin Audio upgrade. This modular installation overcomes the venue’s long-standing acoustic challenges while providing a high-fidelity portable system for performances across the museum’s gallery spaces.

Opened in 1954 as a purely acoustic hall - designed primarily to showcase instruments from The Met’s own collection with no amplification intended - the 700-capacity Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium has remained largely unchanged in appearance. The original Korina woodwork endures, as does the Steinway piano gifted by the company upon the venue’s opening.

Yet, as the auditorium’s programming evolved, so too did its audio demands. The legacy sound system previously installed - early-generation powered column speakers positioned only on the left and right sides of the room - delivered severely uneven coverage, with significant gaps across both the floor and balcony. It was barely adequate for lectures and simply unsuitable for contemporary musical performances.

Sebastian Hurtado, a seasoned audio engineer who has worked across multiple countries and throughout the US, joined The Met as Senior Technical Manager AVMS Production, in 2024. The sound in the auditorium became an immediate focus. “I think I identified the need for an upgrade within three days of arriving”, Hurtado recalls.

Once a business case had been authorised and budgetary approval came, he wasted no time. His brief was clear: replace the legacy system with a single, unified solution capable of handling everything from intimate lectures to full live bands - all while preserving the visual and architectural integrity of the historic space. After consulting with several manufacturers, Hurtado and his team selected Martin Audio. “We sent an initial concept, and they mapped it out and made recommendations”, he says. “It made us feel confident it was being done correctly.”

The final installed system is anchored by three Martin Audio Torus Series T1230 and one T1215 constant curvature array elements, configured as a centre cluster and rigged from a truss at the front of the stage. “We didn’t want to change the essence of the space, and with no positions possible to hang a Left-Right line array, we realised a centre cluster was the way to go”, describes Hurtado. “It covers the lower and upper centre of the house. Even without subwoofers, the low end from the Torus 12s is substantial for video playback and presentations.”

Four Martin Audio FlexPoint FP12 12-inch point-source speakers are positioned on the sides to fill outer coverage gaps, while four FP6 6-inch models - precisely time-delayed - address the notoriously difficult under-balcony zone. “The FP6s have provided one of the biggest improvements”, says Hurtado. “They are delayed so well that it almost seems like they’re not doing anything, which is perfect.”

For larger performances, a ground-stacked system comprising three per side Torus T820 8-inch tops and two per side SXC115 15-inch cardioid subwoofers, is designed to handle any production required in the space. Ten Martin Audio LE100 stage monitors round out the rig.

For Hurtado, a key aspect of the system design was modularity and the ability to deploy elements of the system in other areas. “We wanted to kill two birds with one stone and have a modular system we could take into the galleries”, he says. The ground-stacked system therefore doubles as a portable rig for events and performances throughout the museum, allowing The Met to bring consistent audio to spaces as acoustically challenging as the all-glass, hard-surfaced Engelhard Court.

“The challenge in many of our rooms, especially with speaking, is intelligibility”, notes Hurtado. “But with the Martin Audio system, we’re able to overcome it. We can deploy optimum systems for each event - that may be three tops and two subs per side, or a more distributed system.”

The entire system was purchased through dealer ADI, who also handled amplifier programming and final tuning. Physical installation - including routing cables through the building’s complex, century-old infrastructure - was carried out by Hurtado and his in-house team. A helpful discovery during the process: the mounting locations for the FP12s sat behind fabric-covered plywood panels concealing former pipe organ openings, which served as convenient cable pathways.

According to Hurtado, the upgrade has changed the way the institution programmes its spaces. “It has prompted programmers to start doing more events in the auditorium”, he concludes. “Before, they preferred the galleries because the auditorium infrastructure wasn’t great. Now, our spec is much more rider-friendly, and we don’t have to rent outside gear.”

(Photos: Martin Audio)

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