EAW NT Series Loudspeakers At Heart Of 5.1 Surround Sound For Concert Tour
By Thomas Dolby And BT

Gunness Focusing technology helps attain sonic goals both on stage and in the house

Whitinsville, MA – January 30, 2007 – A recent concert tour by Electronica music legends Thomas Dolby and BT featured live performances presented in 5.1 surround sound via a system headed by EAW NT Series two-way powered (bi-amplified), DSP-controlled loudspeakers.

The surround concept stemmed from BT’s latest CD, This Binary Universe, recorded in 5.1 surround, which he sought to duplicate in the live realm. As plans commenced, Dolby - best known for the iconic track She Blinded Me With Science – also joined the bill. An interesting caveat is that the stage was also supplied with 5.1 surround mixes, with the monitoring system also utilizing NT Series loudspeakers positioned as wedges.

Veteran Sound Engineer Scott “Goody” Goodwine was tapped to consult on the design of both surround systems as well as to handle house mix duties. The house sound systems at each venue were utilized for left and right main output as well as bass, with 15-inch-loaded NT Series loudspeakers providing the center channel (usually from the front of the stage) as well as up to two rows of left-right surround channels, and these were accompanied by dual-12-loaded NTS22 subwoofers to help permeate low-end energy.

“I absolutely love these boxes,” Goody says of the NT Series, which incorporate EAW’s revolutionary Gunness Focusing technology. “They have tremendous throw, particularly for their size. In a lot of venues, we’re easily keeping up with much larger house systems with just a pair of NT Series loudspeakers per side. It’s remarkable.

“The combination of coverage patterns and woofer sizes available with the NT Series came in very handy for our needs with this tour,” he adds. “In some places, we went with 12-inch woofer versions, in others the optimum choice proved to be 15-inch woofers, while the coverage pattern options allowed us to maximize coverage at all locations. The various configurations worked perfectly, with the performers loving it.”

The other key components were dual Mackie TT24 digital consoles, with all stage inputs routed to the TT24 on stage that supplied two discrete surround monitor mixes as well as an additional left-right monitor mix. This TT24 also sent a left-right submix to its partner console at FOH, which Goody then tailored into a cohesive 5.1 mix.

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About EAW
Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW) is a global leader in producing high-performance professional audio equipment trusted by the most discerning professionals for every possible sound reinforcement application. EAW is a registered trademark of LOUD Technologies Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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Photo Captions: (click on photos for hi-res version)

Thomas Dolby Live: Thomas Dolby performing live at the Mercy Lounge in Nashville, one of the numerous stops on the concert tour that featured 5.1 surround on stage and in the house.	Goody-TT24 Console: Dolby/BT Tour FOH Engineer Scott “Goody” Goodwine at the Mackie TT24 digital console he utilized for his 5.1 surround mix.	NT Series Loudspeakers: One of the EAW NT Series full-range loudspeaker and subwoofer tandems utilized to provide up to two rows of surround in each venue, shown at the Mercy Lounge show in relation to the stage and house system.