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Play it Loud
Sound systems for supergroups
The 1970s saw the rise of giant concerts, big sounds and supergroups. Rock, pop and disco were flourishing at the time, and with them the technology of the sound system. You did not just hear the music any more, you “experienced” it. The London-based firm Martin Audio, founded in 1971, was one of the pioneers of the live concert sound system and was responsible for manufacturing live performance loudspeakers for bands such as Pink Floyd, the Who and Supertramp to play to larger audiences and be heard properly for the first time.
RS1200 sound system, designed by Martin Audio in the 1980s. (All photos courtesy Martin Audio)
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Aside from the quality of the performance, a great deal of the quality of the physical experience of attending a live concert is dependent upon what’s going on with the huge stacks of black boxes placed strategically around the performance space. The science behind sound systems goes way beyond simply plugging in amplifying music across the venue. Whether before a concert or in a nightclub, sound technicians need to analyse the size and shape of the available space, relate this to its sound pressure, and then measure and calculate how the sound can best be dissipated in order to be heard coherently and precisely by the audience.
There is also the question of how “big” the sound can safely be: as the sound level in a venue or performance space increases, the sound pressure in the room elevates along with it – up to a point where the room is no longer able to disperse the energy – and things, specifically eardrums, start to get damaged.
Martin Audio sound system for Dire Straits concert at Juventus Stadium, 1981.
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The legendary Pink Floyd concert at Earls Court, London in 1973 featured a Martin Audio 7000W system.
By additionally mounting acoustic panels on the walls to release the energy across the floor space in a thermo-dynamic transfer, it’s possible to reduce the effect of white noise and achieve higher sound quality without losing the feeling of “loud”. Delivering what Martin Audio call “dynamic, full frequency sound” to an increasingly discerning generation of habitual headphone-wearers is an evolving task that involves a great deal of research and development – but unlike other rock dinosaurs of the 1970s, Martin Audio is not showing any signs of fading away. I (ltv)
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