At Denmark’s Roskilde Festival—the largest music festival in northern Europe—the
new LEOPARD™linear sound reinforcement system led a lineup of more than 200
Meyer Sound loudspeakers to deliver pristine sonic detail and immersion to crowds
at four different stages. The smallest and most versatile member of the Meyer
Sound LEO® Family of loudspeakers, the patent-pending LEOPARD system was
launched this spring to great acclaim.
“LEOPARD was amazing—I could hear every instrument clearly and distinctly more
than 50 meters from the stage,’ says Lars Liliengren, production manager for
Roskilde. “We strive for perfection here at Roskilde, because we have only one
chance each year to get it right.’
Roskilde Technical Manager Paul Jensen adds: “The sound was very open and very
dynamic. I could close my eyes and hear every detail of the instruments from the
bands that were playing.’
Supporting the Rising Stage, the LEOPARD system was provided by Glostrup-based
Comtech and included main arrays of 12-each LEOPARD line array loudspeakers and
dual, ground-stacked, steered-gradient arrays of six-each 900-LFC low-frequency
control elements.
“We needed a lightweight system for this stage and LEOPARD was exactly right for
the job,’ says Jes Hylby Christensen, head of production for Comtech, ” And it was
also easy to integrate the new LEOPARDs with our existing Meyer Sound inventory.
It’s like working with Legos—they all fit together perfectly.’
In addition to LEOPARD, a LYON™ linear sound reinforcement system, another
member of the Meyer Sound LEO Family, was provided for the 16,000-capacity
Avalon Stage by Aarhus-based Victory Tour Production. The system was anchored
by dual front hangs of 10-each LYON linear line array loudspeakers and four flown
cardioid arrays of six-each 1100-LFC low-frequency control elements, one at each
front and delay location. Two delay towers comprised another 10 LYON
loudspeakers each.
“LYON is small but powerful, which made it the perfect choice for the Avalon stage,
as the stage rigging allows only ten boxes per side,’ says Theis Romme, head of
audio for Victory Tour Production. “It was easy to rig everything in less than a day,
and all the engineers were very happy with the sound of the system.’
Elsewhere, Roskilde’s Pavilion Stage was supported by a system built around side
clusters of five-each JM-1P arrayable loudspeakers and twin cardioid stacks of
three-each 1100-LFC elements. A “Ghettoblaster’ mobile DJ truck powered by six
JM-1P loudspeakers and eight 1100-LFC elements also carried high-energy EDM
music around the festival site. Galileo® Callisto™ loudspeaker management
systems provided system drive and alignment for the Rising, Avalon, and Pavilion
Stages.
Morten Buchert, the principal sound consultant for Roskilde, played a key role in
determining system providers and evaluating their performance. “All stages must
be ready to fully serve the artists and the audience,’ he says. “In that respect, the
LEO Family is a step forward in sound reinforcement and is a significant
complement to the music at Roskilde.”
