ROSEMONT, IL —Thunder Audio chose FiberPlex’s LightViper audio transport system for Metallica’s Death Magnetic World Tour. The 64-channel LightViper fiber optic audio system is configured as a “drive snake” to provide AES/EBU digital audio signal distribution from FOH equipment racks to a 44-zone loudspeaker array. Nearly 200 self-powered speakers are arranged in an “in the round” configuration of eight speaker arrays, spaced apart equally. The LightViper interfaces with the loudspeaker management system via military-grade TAC-4 fiber optic cables and also provides the 96kHz Master System Clock to the entire sound distribution grid.
“We eliminated more than 2,000 pounds of copper cable from the show with the LightViper system and replaced it with 15 pounds of fiber optic cable,” said Tom Hejnicki, project manager for Thunder Audio. “The truck pack is considerably smaller now, with less bulky cable cases. And when the whole system ships overseas this February, the weight reduction will save a significant of amount of shipping expense.”
Hejnicki, a sound designer for Thunder Audio with more than 17 years of live sound experience, talked about his prior experience with the LightViper system.
“We had great successes with our prior use of the system, one example being the recent Red Wings Stanley Cup Parade network telecasts. All the techs, the guys from broadcast side, loved the LightViper fiber. It’s a stable, rugged design — ultra-quiet. Since all the audio is optically isolated, fiber also completely solves the problem of ground loops that we often run into with complex events that have multiple feeds. Basically, it's impossible to create a ground loop sending digital audio signals over light.
“There has been a paradigm shift in audio networking in the last year or so,” Hejnicki added. “The Metallica tour would have been a patch nightmare without LightViper. It was the only logical approach to achieve the objectives we had for this complex tour. In my opinion, there is absolutely no reason to have any professional audio system without it. It’s my first choice for designing new systems, or upgrading older ones. Paul Owen, co-owner and VP at Thunder, told me early on that we had to push the boundaries for our client Metallica. Judging by the results so far, this cutting-edge, in-the-round touring sound system has achieved this.”
For more information, please visit www.fiberplex.com , www.lightviper.com and
www.thunderaudioinc.com .
