(20/11/2013) Cambridge Corn Exchange has been a well-known landmark on the UK touring circuit for many years and the scene of numerous memorable performances. Originally opened in 1875, utilising a quarter of a million local bricks of various different colours, its first concert was staged by the Coldstream Guards and a local choral society. As well as being used for corn trading, it was also popular throughout the 20th century as an event space and hosted its first Motor Show in 1898.
Operated by Cambridge City Council, its career as a serious gig and concert venue commenced in the 1970s. It is the primary arts and performance venue in the vibrant University town, presenting an eclectic mix of comedy, theatre and live bands and also conferences and exhibitions.
The capacity ranges from 1,350 fully seated to 1,870 with a combination of standing and seated and it hosts over 270 events a year.
In early 2013, an open tender was issued by the Council for the design and installation of a new FOH sound system, onstage wedge monitors and mixing console.
Adlib's Design & Installations division responded with a fully optimised solution to meet the venue's dynamic needs which was selected as the best all-round option.
The system design and installation was co-ordinated by Adlib's John Hughes and the design created by Roger Kirby. The two have worked on several other recent high profile installations including The National Cycling Centre, Manchester Academies and Scarborough's Open Air Theatre.
They worked closely with the venue's Technical Manager Chris Norton and L-ACOUSTICS' UK System Application Engineers, Chris Vass and Dan Orton.
Norton states, Adlib were everything you could wish for on the project, it is easy in my experience for people in suits to talk a good game in order to get the contract in the first place but it is what comes next that is important! The installation team could not have been more helpful, highly professional and considerate in working within a building which to a large extent carried on as a working environment .
The decision to go with an L-ACOUSTICS KARA system was taken after an extensive site survey and also after speaking with Adlib's various leading live engineers and gauging their experience of working first-hand in the space as well as a careful consideration of the brief issued by the Council.
Kirby completed the initial system design which was further developed and finalised by Vass and Orton.
The main considerations were the broad range of scheduled events; that the chosen speaker solution was fully flexible and adaptable for the venue's operators; product suitability was another factor, along with long term cost effectiveness and value given the strict budget constraints of the project!
Sonically, uniform clear coverage of the room and suitable sound pressure levels throughout the entire space were essential.
The result was a main left and right PA system comprising seven flown KARA WST speakers which can be hung with or without two SB18 sub-bass units depending on the low frequency requirements for the event.
There are also two SB28 ground stacked sub bass speakers per side.
The main balcony coverage is dealt with by a centre hang of five KARAi WSTs. For lip and in-fills there are two 8XTis along the front of the stage and two 12XTis at the edges of the stage either side. For delays another two 8XTis provide under-balcony coverage with three more installed at high level dealing with the extremities of the balcony and back seating rows.
The system is powered by L-ACOUSTICS proprietary LA8 and LA4 amplifiers.
For the onstage wedges 10 of Adlib AA-MP4s were supplied, well known for their robust sound and unobtrusive low profile. The power and finesse of this discreetly packaged product has quickly established it as an industry standard. The MP4 has become a preferred wedge for numerous artistes, making it an easy choice for the venue, says Kirby.
The monitor system is driven with Crown XTi6002 amps.
For the house console, Adlib supplied a Midas PRO2, complete with a DL-251 stage box to add 48 inputs and 16 x outputs to the standard PRO2 I/O. Like the loudspeaker system, the console was chosen for its flexibility, performance, reliability and value.
It is also a console with which most professional guest sound engineers are likely to be familiar. Hughes adds Adlib has witnessed a huge surge in popularity in the Midas Pro 2 over the last 12 months. We believe that this product provides by far the best value for money in the price bracket and this opinion was echoed by all the venue technicians .
While it was relatively straightforward in terms of an installation system, the challenges came from the building which is Grade II listed and therefore subject to some very specific restrictions. Due to its architecture, cable routes had to be non-invasive and their management required plenty of lateral thinking!
Another challenge was installing a system to cater for all the various different stage / seating configurations with three different front-of-stage positions. Adlib's installation team configured the L-ACOUSTICS KARA hangs utilising four different sets of flying points to deal with this scenario. All the delay loudspeakers are time aligned for each active PA flying point. The main KARA hangs can also be deployed with-or-without the flown L-ACOUSTICS SB18 subs.
The actual on-site installation work was completed in a very efficient nine days, followed by a week of system commissioning and training.
During this time, Adlib trained the house crew who will be running the system day-to-day on the fundamentals including the Adlib patch and tie-line system which was also integral to the project; the L-ACOUSTICS speaker system and rigging operations and also their LA Network Manager software; the
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
07/08/2025
July 8 2025, 22:30 (PDT) Tata Motors & Dolby Bring Dolby Atmos to Harrier.ev, R...
12/07/2025
As the death toll continues to mount, with at least 120 killed and more than 170 people still missing on July 10 from devastating Texas floods, a number of broa...
12/07/2025
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., and MIAMI -DirecTV and TelevisaUnivision have signed a deal that will make the ad-supported premium subscription tier of ViX, ViX Premium wi...
11/07/2025
PARK CITY, UTAH, July 11, 2025 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the 11 producers chosen for its annual Producers Labs, returning to Ucross Fou...
11/07/2025
If you've ever wondered what might be playing in Clark Kent's headphones...
11/07/2025
L3Harris Technologies President of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Jason Lambert and General Manager of L3Harris Waco facility Sean Ling held a ce...
11/07/2025
ARLINGTON, Va. WETA, the flagship public media station in the national capital area, has launched WETA+, a new streaming service tailored for the local Washingt...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission has emerged as one of the central players in the broadcast TV landscape in 2025, with its deregulatory policies sparking h...
11/07/2025
Calrec will introduce usability, customization and system enhancements across its entire range of Argo consoles during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Amsterda...
11/07/2025
LONDON Encompass Digital Media said it will support live and on-demand viewing of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup across multiple global regions for sports enterta...
11/07/2025
Two-thirds of broadcast engineers reaped the benefits of a pay raise within the last year....
11/07/2025
CARY, N.C. SmallHD has launched the Quantum 27, a new 26.5-inch Quantum-Dot OLED monitor designed to deliver postproduction image quality in a compact, set-frie...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau and Tegna have entered into a consent decree that will settle an investigation into the accidenta...
11/07/2025
WASHINGTON Following news in early July that Paramount had settled President Donald Trump's lawsuit, Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Ben Ray Luj n (D-N...
11/07/2025
Model/Actriz Performs Lead Single Cinderella on The Late Show with Stephen Colbe...
11/07/2025
Behind the Mic: Amazon Prime Preps for First Season of NBA Action; MSG Networks ...
11/07/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Suite Studios' Craig Hering on Adapting to Client...
11/07/2025
2025 SVG Content Management Forum Breaks Down AI's Impact, Continued Transit...
11/07/2025
A Journey HOME: University of Nebraska's HuskerVision Goes IP Leaders from the HuskerVision and Lawo share their IP learnings By SVG Staff
Friday, July 1...
11/07/2025
CMSI, Remote Picture Labs, Ace ESPN's Cloud-Based Editing Efforts for Wimble...
11/07/2025
Netflix Enters the Live-Boxing-Production Ring for Round 2 With Historic Taylor-...
11/07/2025
Back to All News
Too Hot to Handle: Italy Is Coming on July 18 Only on Netflix
Entertainment
11 July 2025
GlobalItaly
Link copied to clipboard
July 11, 20...
11/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Will Release Death Inc. Seasons 1, 2 and 3
Entertainment
11 July 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Season 1
Season 2
Se...
11/07/2025
AI and Multimedia Authenticity Standards Collaboration launches two papers to guide the future of AI integration, today at the AI for Good Global Summit
The...
11/07/2025
Ceramics - the humble mix of earth, fire and artistry - have been part of a global conversation for millennia.
From Tang Dynasty trade routes to Renaissance pa...
10/07/2025
The current holder of the prestigious Thomson Foundation Young Journalist of the Year Award has been forced to stop reporting over fears for her safety in Afgha...
10/07/2025
Spotify is turning up the volume on Australian music with a multipronged initiative designed to highlight the dominance of Australian artists on the global stag...
10/07/2025
This is not a drill: Oasis is back on the road-marking its first live performanc...
10/07/2025
The music industry depends on fresh ideas, bold voices, and emerging talent. Yet across the U.K., too many young musicians lack the space to develop their craft...
10/07/2025
NEW YORK - July 10, 2025 - Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, today announced that it appointed Richard Pacheco as head of ...
10/07/2025
Local newscasts don't exist in a vacuum. News directors and station management constantly evaluate what's working, what isn't and perhaps most impor...
10/07/2025
Lawo has announced that Stuttgart Media University (Hochschule der Medien, HdM) has comprehensively modernized its central recording studio after selecting an I...
10/07/2025
The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) has opened early-bird registration for the Media Technology Summit, which will take place in a ne...
10/07/2025
NASHVILLE, Tenn. TNDV Television has launched Aspiration 35, a new version of its 40-foot Aspiration truck reimagined for cinematic multicamera productions....
10/07/2025
BURBANK, Calif. Key Code Education, a provider of instructor-led postproduction training, is growing its curriculum with new programs for beginner and intermedi...
10/07/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. Actus Digital will demonstrate how broadcasters can transform compliance monitoring from a necessary expense into a strategic revenue driver at...
10/07/2025
The Federal Register has published a summary of the Federal Communications Commission's Public Notice seeking comments on its ownership rules that lists a d...
10/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Presents the Official Trailer for SuperestarPlay Video
Play Video
Entertainment
10 July 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard...
10/07/2025
In the race to understand our planet's changing climate, speed and accuracy are everything. But today's most widely used climate simulators often strugg...
10/07/2025
As one of the world's largest emerging markets, Indonesia is making strides toward its Golden 2045 Vision - an initiative tapping digital technologies and...
10/07/2025
10 Jul 2025
VEON and Cohen Circle Secure Investor Commitments for Kyivstar Listing Kyiv, New York, Dubai, and Philadelphia - July 10, 2025 - VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq:...
10/07/2025
5G for all? What the DFL's use of Easy5G and RefCam could mean for events in...
10/07/2025
Save the Date: PGA TOUR Studios Welcomes SVG Remote Production Summit on Oct 14-...
10/07/2025
Cloud on the Road: How Remote-Production-Service Providers Are Adapting to a New...
10/07/2025
Seattle Kraken's Ryan Schaber on the NHL Team Taking Live Game Productions I...
10/07/2025
FOX Sports Reboots Small Control Room in Los Angeles as Hub for Vertical-First P...
10/07/2025
SVG Sit-Down: MSE's Zach Leonsis, ViewLift's Rick Allen Go Deep on Joint...
(20/11/2013) Cambridge Corn Exchange has been a well-known landmark on the UK touring circuit for many years and the scene of numerous memorable performances. Originally opened in 1875, utilising a quarter of a million local bricks of various different colours, its first concert was staged by the Coldstream Guards and a local choral society. As well as being used for corn trading, it was also popular throughout the 20th century as an event space and hosted its first Motor Show in 1898.
