LOS ANGELES — Riedel RockNet provided all of the audio distribution for the annual lighting of the Christmas tree at the Grove in Los Angeles. Goodman Audio, a leading live sound reinforcement company, handled the audio at the event. RockNet is an audio distribution network that can transport up to 160 x 24 bit/48 kHz audio channels on a single CAT5 cable. Goodman Audio used RockNet 100 for basic audio transport and also for routing audio between various points at the event. RockNet 100 can handle up to 80 audio channels.
The Grove is a shopping and entertainment complex located at the Farmer’s Market in Los Angeles. Each year, the Grove has a tree lighting ceremony for its 110-foot-tall Christmas tree decorated with 10,000 ornaments and 15,000 lights. This year the free event included performances by Cirque do Soleil, Jon Secada, Lone Star and others.
“I’ve seen other audio distribution systems, but none of them hit me between the eyes like RockNet,” said Trace Goodman, president of Goodman Audio. “The system is very versatile and it just sounds great. The independent gain control worked amazingly with no one being able to tell that other engineers were making changes. Plus the system is easy to set up and understand,” said Goodman.
Goodman Audio used 3x RN.101.IO modules to provide both line and microphone inputs and outputs. 9x RN.141.MY interfaces were used to connect to 2x Yamaha PM5D mixing consoles, located at the FOH and monitoring stations, as well as a Yamaha M7CL console located in the video truck. 1x RN.302.LO module was used to provide 8 additional line level audio outputs at the video truck.
RockNet is based on a ring typology with built in redundancy; no audio is lost if a single connection is broken. RockNet also offers many desirable features such as independent gain control, easy front panel operation and superior audio quality.
For more information, please visit www.riedel.net.
