L-Acoustics powers Hong Kong’s first drive-in concert

Drive In Ultra, the territory’s first-ever outdoor drive-in concert, took place over three evenings in April at the 36,000m² Central Harbourfront, hosted by vocalist and actor, Ronald Cheng. L-Acoustics rental partner Engineering Impact, which has over three decades of experience putting on large-scale concerts in Hong Kong and tours across Greater China, designed a system using Soundvision to provide coverage across the area.

L-Acoustics application engineer Frieda Lee worked with Engineering Impact on show preproduction. “Engineering Impact’s stellar track record of various outdoor shows had prompted Ronald Cheng’s production team to get them on board this project,” Lee explained.

Added Engineering Impact head of audio Chan Wai Fung: “Front of house engineers working on previous shows had always felt confident with L-Acoustics systems. They knew that the long throw capability of K1 would be able to deliver unrivalled performance in providing a homogeneous frequency response across a large audience area. Hong Kong is a bustling city, and it doesn’t afford us the luxury of long setup times. Preparation needs to be precise. Once the system was loaded in, we used the signal routing and alignment capabilities of LA Network Managers to rapidly tune the system and be ready for the show.”

The main rig Engineering Impact consisted of 12 K1s per side, flanked by an additional 12 K1s on either side as side fill for the wide outdoor drive-in concert area. Twelve SB28 subwoofers stacked in four columns of three enclosures on each side of the middle audience area, and two stacks of six SB28 on each side area, provided low-end. Twenty-four L-Acoustics LA8 amplified controllers drove the line arrays, while 10 LA12X powered all subs.

LA Network Manager also proved crucial during the show. “Array Morphing allowed the engineer to adjust the contour EQ of the system during the performance to maintain a perfect balance, despite the varied types of music performed during the concert,” said Chan.

A review from local online news outlet HK01 specifically mentioning the sound, saying: “The L-Acoustics ecosystem, which includes design and show control software, along with the loudspeakers themselves, result in concert sound that’s enjoyed by both the audience, and the sound crew, who have a great time mixing on it.”