IS 2023 THE YEAR OF WAVEFRONT PRECISION?

If you’ve been to a large festival this year, it’s very likely that you’ll have experienced Martin Audio’s Wavefront Precision line array speakers in action. Delivering fine-tuned frequency response and managing SPL across the largest of venues and spaces, Martin Audio’s WPL series serviced the likes of Glastonbury, British Summer Time and All Points East, as well as a whole host of large-scale global events. As we’ve previously explored, the range’s resolution can be tailored in tandem with Martin Audio’s proprietary DISPLAY 2 software to ensure consistent audio for audience members wherever they may be situated, un-coloured by the acoustics of the venue or space. The customisable Hard Avoid function provides the means to reduce levels in problem areas by up to 30dB – meaning that certain locations have restricted volume. Importantly, it means that packed-out concerts in public parks suffer barely any overspill that might pollute the surrounding area. This state-of-the-art fusion of hardware and software has taken the industry by storm, with plaudits from across the live audio media.

Understandable then, that a multitude of globe-spanning live sound specialists have sought to partner with Martin Audio over the last twelve months, allowing them to rig concerts, festivals and events with this incredible adaptive technology.

“The WPM fits perfectly into our portfolio due to its flexibility”, said the managing director of the Germany-based EBV Veranstaltungstechnik. “The optimisation options make the system feel at home anywhere—whether in a rock concert or as a speech reinforcement system.” EBV’s choice to work with Martin Audio’s Wavefront Precision range has been mirrored by the likes of India’s PXL Media, the Czech Republic and Slovakia’s AudiologicPro, DSL in the Netherlands, and many others across the world.

In the UK, among Martin Audio’s growing stable of rental partners, the recently-formed 22live are particularly noteworthy. Based in Redditch, Worcestershire, the experienced group of live sound and pro-audio experts have recently embarked on providing tailored live sound set-ups for their touring hire clients. We spoke to a representative from 22live to find out more about why the team had opted to partner with Martin Audio, and harness the venue-adapting abilities of WPL (alongside Martin Audio’s TORUS line of constant curvature array cabinets) to rig the venue-filling tours of Sigur Ros, and The Australian Pink Floyd Show UK. “It was the 22live team’s belief that the Martin Audio MLA had largely been a successful product.” They tell us, “It was one of the first systems in the marketplace to really use what Martin

Audio describe as ‘optimisation technology’, and they deployed it successfully in a package that became an acceptable and requested solution to many. It was our understanding that the Wavefront Precision series took the best qualities of the MLA and put it into a practical package that could work for our applications.”

With the pandemic restricting Wavefront Precision’s use in the field prior to the re-opening of events in 2022, there were a few nerves ahead of its use at the UK’s flagship live experience – Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage. As the team told us, “We had heard many good reports already about the performance of the system in the live environment. The pandemic had only delayed the system getting out there, mainly due to the lack of the major events it was likely to be used on, so this wasn’t a concern to us. We knew the system was going to be deployed to the Pyramid Stage in the summer of 2022. This was an important event for WPL, as it really was the first major opportunity for a large number of engineers to experience it. Although 22live had already committed to the system prior to the event, there was a degree of nerves that all would go well at this landmark showing, as it was important for the future success and reputation of Wavefront Precision. 22live were very pleased to hear again only good reports about the experience of engineers using the WPL system at Glastonbury.”

Front And Centre

Prior to WPL’s triumphant showing at Glastonbury, the 22live team had already heard the system in action at the High Wycombe HQ of Martin Audio’s parent company, Focusrite. 22live’s Hire Director Paul Timmins was central in making the call to become part of the Martin Audio Wavefront Precision network, “Obviously a demo can never fully validate a purchasing decision but it did demonstrate to 22live that the system could perform well.” The team tell us, “An important element to us was also the fact that Martin Audio’s parent company Focusrite Group PLC had also recently acquired their amplifier supplier Linea Research.” This significant move confirmed that investment in R&D would only enhance and refine the range over time. This was enough to make 22live commit to work with Martin Audio. As Paul Timmins stated on 22live’s official news release “For me this was a massive boost in my confidence with regard to both Focusrite and Martin Audio. Here was a company empowering its leadership team to really run the business while at the same time investing real money in providing it all the tools it needed to compete in the big leagues of loudspeaker manufacturing. We saw bringing the amplifier manufacturer in-house as really providing Martin Audio

the tools it needed to become more successful”

With Wavefront Precision in place, 22live have begun to roll out Martin Audio’s signature tech, and deliver scalable audio in tandem with a rig of live sound mainstays. “We officially launched 22live in January 2022. We are a second generation pro-audio service provider initially focussed on providing tailored touring packages to the production industry, and also developing sales opportunities alongside this.” Explains the team, “We are now stocking all Martin Audio Wavefront Precision products, as well as innovative infrastructure and packaging, DiGiCo, SSL and AVID consoles as well as Shure and Sennheiser wireless systems.”

We ask the 22live team if they think that 2023 will see the WPL series gain widespread use and improve Martin Audio’s stature as a premiere provider of line array speakers, “We certainly hope so, and we’ll be working hard to continue the ongoing development and success of the Wavefront Precision range. Since joining the new Martin Audio Wavefront Precision network we are already seeing a lot of traction for the product, and a lot of like minded companies are getting behind it. If the system can continue to impress engineers with what it can deliver then we are confident its popularity will increase as more people discover that it can compete with the best of them.”