Ovation Hall at Ocean Casino Resort has built its reputation on headline entertainment and the expectations that come with it. When Ocean Casino Resort decided to upgrade its 15-year-old Meyer Sound MICA system to a PANTHER linear array system, the goal was to take full advantage of the latest advances in loudspeaker technology while addressing acoustic challenges in the venue.
Ovation Hall’s 70,000-square-foot space presented a few design challenges. A missing center cluster, repositioned subwoofers, and a P.A. hung too low to clear newly installed video walls had left coverage gaps the existing front fills weren’t designed to address.
“We wanted it to be seamless so that you really couldn’t tell where one speaker leaves off and the next one starts,” said Blair L. Harris, entertainment production manager at Ocean Casino Resort. “That was our dream design.”
DBS Audio Systems president Dave Brotman brought deep familiarity with Meyer Sound systems and a clear-eyed read of the room’s challenges to the project.
Working with Meyer Sound Director of System Optimisation Bob McCarthy, Brotman and his team took precise measurements of the space and sent the data to McCarthy, who modelled the installation remotely using the MAPP 3D system design and prediction tool.
Once the design was finalised, Brotman, along with DBS Audio Systems team members Michael Shoulson and Chris Trupe, executed the install alongside the Ocean Casino Resort audio and rigging staff—putting in the full system, including an entirely new rigging infrastructure, in just nine days.
The main hangs comprise four PANTHER-L narrow-coverage and 12 PANTHER‑W wide-coverage loudspeakers per side.
A single ULTRA‑X80 serves as center fill, with 10 ULTRA-X40 point source loudspeakers covering the front. ULTRA‑X80 and ULTRA-X82 point source loudspeakers cover side fill and VIP areas.
For low end, six flown 2100-LFC low-frequency control elements per side in a gradient configuration combine with 16 ground-stacked 2100-LFC elements in an end-fire configuration.
The Galileo GALAXY Network Platform handles processing. Five GALAXY 816 and one GALAXY 408 provided system control, running a primary and secondary Milan AVB network.
“The real challenge in that room was even, low end coverage,” said Brotman. “It’s a very wide room with a very short throw. The way Bob designed the system, the coverage was spectacular, the punch was there—everything they were lacking was vastly improved.”
Onsite, McCarthy balanced the system across five room configurations, from an open GA floor to full capacity, using selective cabinet shading to optimise coverage for each setup.
Harris says he had been initially skeptical of the end-fire sub design but the results spoke for themselves. “Combined with the flown 2100-LFCs, it truly delivers outstanding low end throughout the venue,” he explained.
“It is astonishing. Our resident standing wave backstage and in monitor world has vanished. During a recent show with busy low end, you could hear and distinguish every bass note. We find the stereo imaging and the crystal clarity in the transients of the PANTHER system to be quite impressive.”
“The DBS Audio Systems team was no less than outstanding,” Harris added. “They truly delivered on time and within budget. Great folks to work with and a superior company.”
The system went live March 28 with Smokey Robinson and an orchestra. In the weeks that followed, Ovation Hall hosted an eclectic run of headline acts including Lenny Kravitz, Matisyahu, America, and comedian Bobby Lee.
According to Harris, when the front-of-house engineer for Puscifer arrived with a full complement of plugins, he turned them all off. “He listened to what Bob had done with it and said, ‘I don’t need any of this,’” Harris said. “He went straight ahead with board EQ.”
For a venue that hosts everything from comedy to heavy metal, that kind of system transparency speaks for itself. “We present everything from headline rock concerts, convention meetings, and dance parties to string ensembles and choirs,” said Harris. “PANTHER fits the bill for all of them. We could not be more excited and pleased to present this system to our clients and guests.”
