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dBS Solutions deploys Martin Audio for all stages of Daresbury Festival

dBS Solutions provided sound reinforcement for the dance-focused Daresbury Festival at Walton Hall and Gardens in Warrington, Cheshire, with all three stages powered by Martin Audio systems. The two-day event featured the Could Be Real tribute festival on the Friday evening, followed by the sold-out Daresbury Festival itself on the Saturday, hosting 8,500 festivalgoers across the site.

“It’s a site we know really well”, says dBS Solutions director Chris Bogg. “The stage looks immense because it’s surrounded by trees; it’s nicely tucked in and creates quite an intimate setting.” With main stage capacity capped at 6,500, maintaining engagement for all attendees across the secondary stages proved critical, supported by strong headline programming on stages two and three.

To support this the second stage saw significant development. “They tried different stage configurations this year and opted for a 15-metre by 12-metre structure, which was fantastic for these acts”, states Bogg. “It provided plenty of stage real estate for risers, monitors, and changeovers.” To deliver audio site-wide, dBS deployed Martin Audio systems across all three stages, including Wavefront Precision Series line arrays on both the main and second stage.

The main stage comprised twelve Martin Audio WPC (Wavefront Precision Compact) line array elements per side, supplemented by ten Martin Audio SXH subwoofers in a cardioid castellated configuration. Outfill coverage was handled by Martin Audio Torus T1230 constant curvature arrays, with front fill delivered by Martin Audio FlexPoint FP12 enclosures.

On the second stage, Martin Audio WPS (Wavefront Precision Sub-compact) arrays and SXC118 cardioid subwoofers were deployed in a ground-stacked configuration. “There were DJs performing who had featured on the main stage in previous years”, explains Bogg. “While it was a smaller audience area, it wasn’t a smaller line-up.”

In the courtyard, an acoustic stage featured Martin Audio FlexPoint FP15 point-source cabinets, complemented by four SX118 subwoofers per side. “It was obviously a much smaller system, but there were still audiences of up to 500 people gathered in front of it at a time”, says Bogg.

System prediction and optimisation across the site were managed via Martin Audio’s Display software, with the audio team liaising closely with local acoustic consultants to maintain strict off-site noise compliance. Acoustic management on-site was equally important. “The castellated cardioid sub arrays helped us steer low-end energy away from the perimeter while tightly controlling pattern width across the listening area", reports Bogg.

"We applied Hard Avoid wherever we could - certainly behind the stage”, he adds. “Our systems engineer Oli Chilton was constantly monitoring atmospheric fluctuations, updating predictions in Display, importing them into Vu-Net, and pushing new filter settings to the rigs between performances to compensate for shifts in temperature, humidity, and wind.”

(Photos: Martin Audio)

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