Regarding itself as a fine arts centre with grand aspirations, the Pablo Center at the Confluence lies at the confluence of the Chippewa and Eau Claire Rivers in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The 143,000sq-ft space includes a 1,200-seat proscenium theatre, 400-seat JAMF black-box theatre, five flexible rehearsal rooms and galleries, and a light, sound, and video production lab. A/V integration firm Camera Corner Connecting Point (CCCP) assisted in the design and installation of the venue’s audio and video systems, which include more than 60 Danley Sound Labs loudspeakers powered by Danley multichannel DNA amplifier/DSPs.

The venue hired Threshold Acoustics for acoustic and sound system design of the proscenium theatre and JAMF black box theatre, who in turn called on CCCP to design A/V systems for all the other rooms in the building, as well as video systems.

‘The practice spaces didn’t have any particular loudspeaker manufacturer specified, but when they asked us to run the numbers on filling them with products from the proscenium theatre’s loudspeaker manufacturer, it was way over budget,’ says CCCP Director of A/V Design & Engineering, Scott Tomashek. ‘I explained that Danley would be a great option.

‘People have this idea that Danley boxes are super expensive, but they’re not. They deliver state-of-the-art performance at a price that would allow the Pablo Center to more than meet their performance specifications, which required both volume and critical-listening fidelity.’

Tomashek propposed a demo, and Center Executive Director Jason Anderson accepted. Don Ludwig of Ludwig Marketing brought a Danley SM96 loudspeaker and TH118 subwoofer in: ‘We were able to fly the system, and it wasn’t long before Jason was completely convinced,’ Tomashek recalls. ‘After that, we just hung out and enjoyed listening to tracks we like on the system. Jason used to be the production manager of Bon Iver ,and has heard their recordings literally thousands of times on different systems. He was amazed to hear details in the recording on the demo system that he had never heard before. It was a real credit to Danley fidelity and an immediate selling point.’

Each of the five rehearsal spaces uses four Danley SM96 loudspeakers – one in each corner – for mains and a single Danley TH112 subwoofer. Four-channel Danley DNA 10k4 Pro amplifiers drive the loudspeakers and subwoofers. ‘Using the Danley amps made the set-up and commissioning easier due to built-in DSP presets for the various Danley models,’ Tomashek says. ‘The hardware made it easy to hang the speakers off the pipe grid in these spaces. I worked with local fabricators to suspend the subwoofers from the pipe grid as well.’

Given Anderson’s enthusiasm, he and the Threshold team agreed with Tomashek’s suggestion to switch the JAMF black box theatre over to Danley as well.

‘Since it’s a black box theatre, we fitted the speakers with clamps to allow them to be reconfigured for different shows and applications,’ he says. ‘Eight Danley SM96s are dedicated to the JAMF along with four Danley TH112 subwoofers and four Danley SHMicros. All are powered with Danley DNA 10K4 Pro amplifiers.’

A Yamaha CL3 digital console serves as the system’s nerve center and feeds the Danley amplifiers via Dante. Aaron Johnson, a consultant with Threshold Acoustics, tuned the system, starting from the presets that come with the Danley amplifiers.

The Pablo Center’s light, sound, and video production lab includes ‘more Danley boxes than would seem reasonable given its size’, in Tomashek’s words, a fact that reflects the flexibility necessary for such a space. There are four SH60 loudspeakers, four THmini subwoofers, and 16 SHMicros, all flexibly powered by six 4-channel DNA 10k4 Pro amplifiers.

‘They’re going to be teaching sound, lighting, and video design, and plenty more in the lab,’ Tomashek says. ‘The DSP in the amplifiers is extremely flexible and will allow them to make any scenario happen. All the SHMicros can be used as effects speakers, or really whatever they want. They could even do high-dimension surround sound systems. Danley has been a great partner throughout the process and we look forward to doing more projects with them in the future.’