Martin Audio MLA and DD12 Energise Stereophonics PA posted: 15/01/2016
Having piloted the mix for every tour the Stereophonics have undertaken since they set out two decades ago (hardly missing a show in the process), their FOH engineer Dave Roden has become perfectly at ease with the Martin Audio MLA system that seamlessly replaced the former W8L Longbow on the last tour.
I knew I had backed a winning horse after being given the choice of which PA to move up to after Longbow. There were various options but I chose MLA and have had no regrets with that decision, he says. I can now just sit back in my seat without needing to walk the floor, knowing the system will sound the same everywhere in the arena.
When he arrived at London's O2 Arena it was off the back of a gig at the Brighton Centre the previous evening where the experience had been matchless. [Brighton] is such a lovely room to mix in and very like a sports arena, because you can put enough boxes in to make it sound like a giant monitor system. The room reacts exactly as you would want it to and you can hear reverbs of different lengths and narrow EQ slices, continues Roden, who has been using an Avid VENUE Profile, making heavy use of Waves plugins and the onboard dynamics.
FOH engineer Dave Roden using an Avid VENUE Profile
But part of the reason for this tour's success has been the deployment of Martin Audio's new DD12 lip fills, which sat atop the MLX subwoofers in the pit, and Capital Sound's new Dante network - designed by their audio crew chief Robin Conway - which was making its debut.
The band's new Keep The Village Alive album, which front man Kelly Jones sees as a conceptual follow up to the recent Graffiti On The Train, has already topped the album chart and the Stereos were determined to recreate the experience for live audiences on this tour.
The band are aware that MLA is state of the art technology and does things that other systems don't, so as long as we keep receiving great reports they are happy to leave everything to me, says the sound engineer.
THE PA RIG
The O2 Arena saw production field a 16 x MLA/2 x MLD Downfill hang either side of the stage with a 13 x MLA/1 x MLD Downfill as outfills. Ten MLX subs formed a broadside cardioid array, seven forward facing and three reverse.
We also have a three high cardioid stack of MLX rotated offstage at 45 , left and right as outfill subs, explains system tech Toby Donovan. This keeps the delay times a bit shorter in the broadside MLX array and also improves coverage in the side bleachers.
A pair of DD12s follow a similar angle, positioned on the outflanking subs, while the four central DD12s sit on the arrayed MLX boxes, angled into the audience on neat circular stands - all to remarkable effect.
We have used W8LM or W2 for nearfills previously but these DD12s are fantastic, natural sounding boxes and extremely powerful, adds Donovan. They are voiced similar to the MLA and the fact they are all on the VU-NET network means they can be time aligned individually. I can bring it up as its own mini PA, just increasing the hi-pass filter - as the DD12 goes down lower than I need for this application - but they require no additional EQ. With VU-NET we can monitor every single driver and amplifier module on the entire network.
THE NEW DANTE NETWORK
Capital's new 16-channel AES3 I/O for Dante is used to drive the PA. The network hinges around a combination of Lake LM44 processors, Focusrite RedNet D16 AES break out box and Cisco SG300 10-port switcher - and according to Robin Conway is a natural progression.
This is an affordable option and gives us a full 96K enabling us to further improve the noise floor of MLA, which was already extremely impressive. Using the Cisco Managed Switches/ fibre converters and twin Neutrik Fibre Drums means the infrastructure is very easy to assemble and easy to use.
While the signal to MLA remains in the digital domain (on AES3) throughout - without the need to pass through various conversion stages - Toby Donovan also notes the benefits of Martin Audio's continually evolving Display software which was a further boost to the system performance. It just keeps getting better, he says. In particular the new version incorporates the MLD Downfill boxes to a greater extent, which means that in turn they are working a bit harder, removing the need for any zoning.
As the curtain came down on an O2 Arena show that saw the band perform all their favourites, the quality of production on the night seemed a fitting finale to a year in which MLA had dominated concert stages across the globe.
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
In a live broadcast from the Reagan National Defense Forum, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher Kubasik joined Morgan Brennan on CNBCs Closing Bell: Overtime. Ku...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils the First Look for Land of Sin' - Premier...
05/12/2025
Introducing New Perks to Help You Get Even More from LinkedIn Premium Published on Dec 5, 2025 Categories: Company News, Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Co...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
Martin Audio MLA and DD12 Energise Stereophonics PA posted: 15/01/2016 
