ST. LOUIS – Tim Kresko, managing partner at Spectra Audio Systems LLC noted recently that the company's investment in Turbosound Flex Arrays was anything but an impulsive purchase. "An investment in a loudspeaker system is one of the biggest commitments a regional company like ours can make," he said, "and one that we didn't take lightly."
Now with more than 15 months to review that investment, Kresko credited the gear with new and repeat business for the sound company, adding that there are "no regrets."
Spectra Audio Systems supports a broad range of professional audio production services. Partners Kresko and Casey Hunter joined forces in 1994 to provide sound systems for local bands, and shortly thereafter a KF-850 sound system became Spectra Audio's primary rental rig, serving them well for over eight years. However, the pressure to get on board with a full-scale line array – something they lacked in their arsenal – became clear when they noticed that their larger accounts were all hiring them.
"We were overdue. We had to join the 21st century. Advances in system technology had made it impossible for us to be competitive. We had to advance or bow out," Kresko said. "We'd been looking at the numbers on line arrays over the past several years, but it always seemed to be just out of reach from a business perspective. It seemed we could never find that killer combination of quality and affordability."
Kresko had done a fair amount of touring work in the mid to late 1990s, and had worked on TMS-3 and TMS-4 rigs, and the Floodlight install at Tipatina's in New Orleans as well as some Flashlight rigs from Eighth Day and Stanco Audio. So inevitably, the point source vs. line array debate was on their minds.
"We didn't necessarily have to have a line array, although it did seem to be the flavor of the decade. In a lot of circumstances it is an advantage, but not always, and the ability to switch between line and point source was a key point in our decision."
An introduction to Turbosound's line array started with a conversation. "We originally got in touch with Robert Fordyce at K&R Productions because we needed to replace a couple of diaphragms in the Turbosound wedges we have," recalled Casey Hunter, co-managing partner with Kresko. "In the course of talking, we heard the pricing on the Flex Array system and, to be honest, that was what sparked our initial interest. It struck us as the first line array from a name-brand company that was within our reach."
"We had been shopping for a rig for about a year and had definitely seen some great stuff," added Kresko, "but nothing that could supply the quality, coverage, and versatility that we needed while fitting our budget. The day that the paperwork arrived we all agreed that the answer might be sitting in front of us. That was 15 months ago, and we have no regrets."
A demo was duly set up at The Pageant, a 2,000-seat St. Louis venue frequented by national tours. "They have a good system in there, and of course they've seen just about everything on the market come through with tours. And of course, we're familiar with the room," said Hunter.
The demo rig was a six-a-side Flex Array system, with four subs per side. Kresko and Hunter invited a variety of area engineers and promoters to help get a good read on the system.
"We were all blown away," Kresko recalled. "It exceeded our expectations right out of the box. The system was easy to handle, and even without any ‘fixing' it was warm and smooth. The impact and coverage Turbosound gets out of a mid-sized box like that is amazing. Everyone gave the system a big thumbs up. The house guy said it was the best out-of-the-box sound he had heard in that room.
"And the guy whose opinion really mattered the most looked at me after putting a nice mix together and said, "dandy." That might not sound like much, but coming from him, I knew we were on track. It was a big nod."
The performance of Flex Array at the demo sealed the deal, and Spectra bought a system on the spot – a total of 18 TFA-600HDP cabinets along with a dozen TSW-218DP subwoofers, all of them self-powered. "Frankly we'd have bought more if we could," says Kresko. "The fact that it works so well in so many configurations shows how well thought-out this system is. I know this sounds cliché, but Flex Array really lives up to its name."
Kresko also explained Spectra's decision to go with the self-powered option: "The discrete, per-box control of gain, equalization and delay is just awesome, it gives you a lot of power. For example, when it comes to shading, you don't have to work in groups of boxes like you do with outboard amps. Or if you want to use a couple of boxes for fill, you place them, tune them and go – with no reconfiguring of amp racks from gig to gig. There have been countless situations where we look at each other and realize what a pain in the tail this would have been if these weren't powered."
The TFA-600HDP is a self-powered three-way mid/high enclosure housing twin 10-inch low mid frequency drivers, together with a 6.5-inch high-mid driver and a 1-inch neodymium high frequency driver both feeding into a combined rotatable Polyhorn/Dendritic waveguide, all designed for well-defined coverage. The cabinet covers the 80Hz to 20kHz range, leaving sub frequencies extending down to 35Hz to be handled by the formidable TSW-218DP horn-loaded subwoofers, housing twin neodymium 18-inch drivers capable of 142 dB max SPL.
The TFA-600HDP features an integrated rigging system that requires no additional external parts; everything is included on the box. The continuously-adjustable screw-thread flybar allows for precise angling of a cluster even while in the air and under load.
The on-board Class D amplifiers contribute less than 5 pounds to the cabinet's net weight, compared to the non-powered version, and feature 96kHz DSP for pristine audio quality.
The networking facilities available via the Turbodrive remote control software are also much appreciated by Spectra's owners. "It puts all of your resources in one place, giving you total system control and monitoring on one screen," said Kresko. "Delay-based sub arrays are also a breeze, and you don't need banks of processors to pull them off; and this has been key. We and our clients both appreciate the lack of amp racks, as it helps to keep things clean and reduces labor on the in and out, as well as shop and truck space.
"I've heard that we might get a couple more dB using outboard amps, but to be honest, no one has run this rig out of gas yet, and if we get bigger gigs we'll buy Aspect. I believe that the amount of options offered by Flex DP certainly has to be the future. All systems should offer this much control."
Spectra's appreciation for the system has only grown since acquiring it late in 2009. "It's funny, because we were motivated to buy because of the sound and the price. But there are so many nice little touches to this system," said Hunter. "The design of the truck packs and rigging is great, so you don't need excessive labor to put it together. The boxes come out of the truck pack in groups of three, already connected. You can change the angles easily while it's in the air, including the angle of the bumper bar on top. It's so fast, two people are done in a heartbeat. Plus there's no amp rack to deal with, and the whole things packs up nice and tight on the truck." Hunter also credited the system for its ease of use.
Spectra's new Turbosound rig continues to be in demand. Among the acts and events that have booked the system in 2010 are Vince Neil, The Oak Ridge Boys, The Black Eyed Peas After Party featuring Fergie and Will.i.am, guitar legend John Mclaughlan, The Marshall Tucker Band, Ferry Corsten, Paul Oakenfold, Richie Hawtin, Deekline, Beats Antique, The Glitch Mob, Twilight Tuesdays at The St Louis Art Museum, and The Whitaker Jazz Festival at The Missouri Botanical Garden. The system has also proven popular with the dance club crowd, drawing praise from high profile techno and trance DJs as well as touring rock acts.
Flex Array was recently used for the Vince Neil tour stop, which immediately led to another high-profile rental. "Bret Michaels had a gig coming up and his manager was in the audience. He went to venue management right after the show and said he had to have the Turbosound rig for his show. That was great. So word is on the street."
Spectra's client profile has taken a leap forwards since taking delivery of the Turbosound system a little over 15 months ago. "Today, we are working with clients who require a cleaner look and sound than we could have delivered prior to purchasing Flex Array. These include corporate, institutional, trade show, and live music promoters. We were doing lower paying shows and gigs where we were basically staffing and supplementing existing installs. This new Turbosound purchase has really put the wind in our sails, and has even led to us hiring in this tough economy. We are definitely a cleaner machine than we were a year ago.
"Business-wise, while our gross is up, our profit is up even more, as we are not sub-leasing gear from other companies to get better gigs. We are already looking better for 2011 as well. All of our new clients from 2010 have rebooked Spectra and some had such a good experience with us that they are expanding their business in '11. It's been a win/win."
When asked to describe in a nutshell the ‘sound character' of Flex Array, Kresko is unequivocal: "It's all there. Out of the box it is warm but intelligible, with a nice sparkle up top. Vocals fly out of this box with little or no effort. The mid bass is tight and defined, and way flatter in the upper mid than on any other system I've worked with. I'm sure that the paper going up so high is responsible for that. Flex Array really has a hi-fi quality to it, with cymbals sounding like cymbals, and Marshall boxes sounding like Marshalls. It's first rate."
Spectra Audio Systems finds itself very busy in 2011, having handled the recent Winter Warpdrive 6 at the Roberts Orpheum Theatre. This year's headliners included Infected Mushroom, Krafty Kuts, Cypher, and Donald Glaude – and gave Kresko and Hunter an opportunity to experiment with some new ideas for sub-bass arrays.
"We are bringing the full system in, and we'll be combining the use of delay with lower low-pass settings for the subs in the center," said Kresko, shortly before the event. "The event promoters are very happy to have us and the Flex Array rig back again this year, and of course we're real excited at the prospect."
Summing up, Kresko said, "We couldn't be happier. If the summer ends up like it appears it will, we're planning to purchase six more TFA-600HDP tops and four more TSW-218DP subs as part of our expansion plan."
For more information, please visit www.turbosound.com and www.spectrasound.com.
