ROCKPORT, MA — Rockport Music, best known for its Rockport Chamber Music Festival, opened its Shalin Liu Performance Center in 2010. Featuring a 334-seat concert hall and other multi-function spaces, the facility let Rockport Music expand its performance schedule from part-time (six weeks per year) to a full-time (52 weeks per year).
Along with the upgrade to its facilities, Rockport Music also added to its collection of audio gear. It now uses Neumann KK 205 capsules and four channels of Sennheiser 2000 series wireless, including EM 2050 two channel receivers, Sennheiser SKM 2000 handheld wireless transmitters and lavalier body packs along with a new antenna combiner.
“During my first year here in 2010, one of my first goals was to bolster and enhance our in-house PA equipment,” said David Shriver, technical operations manager for Rockport. “Having very high quality wireless handheld mics and belt packs was very important to me since I wanted a system that could be mostly used on stage but also offer flexible usage applications for other spaces in our facility.”
“The deciding factor for me in adding the Sennheiser 2000 wireless series came when Neumann introduced the KK 204 and KK 205 capsules this year,” Shriver added. “I get rider requests for Neumann mics all the time, and I knew this was the direction we needed to go in.”
When the new Sennheiser 2000 wireless system is not being used in the concert hall, Shriver is able to use it on the 3rd floor multi-function/reception space: “Sennheiser’s Dave Missall came out, looked at the situation, and recommended an RF solution with antennas in the reception space and an antenna combiner to the existing antenna system in the concert hall. This enables me to use my four new RF systems in both places.”
While evaluating the new capsules and wireless system, Shriver relied on Rob Pemberton of Wellesley, MA-based Parsons Audio, who was proud to assist in the upgrade of such a world class facility, as well as Sennheiser area sales manager Mike Cleary. “Mike was great,” recalls Shriver. “He would let me try out a bunch of different microphones while we were trying to figure out what to buy — not just for handheld vocal mics, but for drums and other instruments as well.”
Shriver and Rockport Music are pleased with their new equipment acquisition: “The quality has been just top notch. The sound makes a world of difference and also makes my job easier. I can run the mics flat and they sound great — also there is greater feedback rejection when compared to other microphones.”
The acoustic features of the cardioid KK 204 and supercardioid KK 205 capsule heads are derived from Neumann’s KMS 104 and KMS 105 multiple award-winning wired Neumann stage microphones. Due to the “single polar pattern design,” the polar patterns are very uniform over the entire frequency range and provide excellent resistance to feedback.
For more information, please visit www.sennheiserusa.com.
