d&b audiotechnik Yi12 & Yi8 arrays & B6 subs on main island stage
the performance space inside the village restaurant.
In the summer of 2017, amidst yet another busy tourist season,
SSi Audio from nearby Moncton, NB worked in tandem with Pays
de la Sagouine Technical Director Hugo St-Laurent and his team to
outfit these unique performance spaces with new audio solutions
that would help to share these stories in the present and for years
to come.
The island’s two outdoor stages – the larger main stage and smaller
band-focused stage – needed passive systems that were rugged
enough to withstand the elements of an Atlantic Canadian summer,
including the unavoidable salt buildup from misty ocean air.
Previously, the two stages were each outfitted with a Dynacord
Cobra 4 system, and though they’d served their productions well
during their decade-plus lifecycle, the elements had taken their toll,
maintenance was required more frequently, and replacement parts
were getting harder to source. What’s more, St-Laurent explains that
the rigging on the main outdoor stage was being revamped, making
it an opportune time to overhaul the sound system. Ideally, their re-
placements would boast as much power but in smaller packages and
with the improved intelligibility that comes with more recent techno-
logical developments.
St-Laurent says SSi Audio was his first call as a potential partner
for the project. “I’m very familiar with the company and wanted their
input on what we were dealing with,” he says. “I always go with them.
When our season ends, I typically have some things that need some
attention. I bring it there and always get good service.”
SSi’s leads on the project were Evan Cormier and Matt Vey, and
after a detailed briefing on the mandate for the outdoor stages and
restaurant, they had their sights set on loudspeaker solutions from
d&b audiotechnik.
“The island required a system that would last many years with-
out damage from the elements,” begins Vey. “The client wanted a
great-sounding, compact, and high-output system that could stand
up to the elements and that could also be taken down in the off-
season with minimal effort.”
“I knew SSi had done a few set-ups with d&b in the area and had
heard them at some big shows in Moncton,” St-Laurent takes over,
recalling the initial talks about the brand, “so I had a good idea of the
quality of sound they provide and thought they’d be a great solution
for what we were trying to achieve.”
Interestingly, because the two stages were previously outfitted
with the identical Dynacord systems but never run at the same time,
operators could simply switch the Speakon connections at the
power amps to only require one amp rack. As SSi Audio’s Matt Vey
explains, that’s a feature they were happy to maintain with the re-
placement system.
Subsequently, the two outdoor stages feature mostly identical
systems built around d&b audiotechnik’s Yi8 and Yi12 two-way pas-
sive line array cabinets, with two of each model per side in left-right
configurations. The larger main stage also features a pair of Yi10Ps for
additional reinforcement.
The two stages share a set of six d&b B6 subwoofers, which are
on casters so they can easily be moved into place on either stage as
needed and stowed away each night. As previously mentioned, the
two systems also share the pair of D30 amplifiers in the rack.
Every component between the two systems takes advantage
of d&b’s weather-resistant option, featuring impenetrable grilles and
cables fixed into the cabinets. “They’re not directly exposed to the rain,”
PROFESSIONAL SOUND • 35