L-Acoustics K Series Delivers Touring Excellence on David Hallyday Arena Tour L-Acoustics K Series Delivers Touring Excellence on David Hallyday Arena Tour...

Stéphane Plisson crafts a powerful, expressive concert professional sound system design for an ambitious nationwide production 

PARIS, FRANCE – December 2025 – Returning to the nation’s stages with a new production spanning Zéniths and arenas across France, David Hallyday is performing to audiences of between 3,000 and 6,000 people each night. Blending energetic pop-rock, modern electro textures and intimate ballads, the show places high demands on clarity, control and dynamic range. To deliver the precision required for this repertoire, Front-of-House engineer and mixer Stéphane Plisson, supported by MAWIP, selected a full L-Acoustics K Series concert sound system, supplied by Potar, continuing a partnership that stretches back nearly four decades. 

Plisson’s association with the Hallyday family spans many years, including his role mixing Johnny Hallyday’s Flashback Tour in 2006. Personally approached by David for this new tour, Plisson brought MAWIP — the company he co-manages — to provide the complete audio package. “I have worked almost exclusively with L-Acoustics since their very first models in 1987,” he explains. “From DOSC and V-DOSC to K1, K2, K3 and now L Series, I’ve followed every step of the brand’s development. For this reason, I choose L-Acoustics on all the tours I mix.” 

Confronting the Acoustic Challenge of Arenas and Zéniths 
The tour’s itinerary brings with it a wide variety of acoustic challenges. Zéniths and mid-sized arenas are known for their complex reverberation profiles, variable audience geometry and unpredictable low-frequency behaviour. Hallyday’s show, driven by a high-precision FOH mix, calls for stable SPL, a coherent stereo image and a controlled yet impactful low-end response from front row to upper tier. 

“Zéniths are difficult for the low end, which I actually enjoy,” Plisson notes. “I mix with the vibrations, and the audience feels them too. The challenge is to avoid low-end build-up, cancellations and pressure hotspots.” Supporting a demanding touring schedule, the system also needed to be deployed and calibrated quickly, providing consistent results irrespective of local crew or venue variation. 

Sculpting the Sound: A Custom K Series Configuration with Subtle Precision 
To meet these requirements, Plisson and MAWIP designed a system architecture rooted in the power, versatility and musicality of L-Acoustics K2. The main arrays typically comprise fourteen K2 per side, delivering wide bandwidth, generous headroom and articulate mid-frequency performance essential for Hallyday’s dynamic vocal and instrumental arrangements. In venues with restricted rigging capacity, the array is adapted to twelve or ten cabinets while maintaining target coverage. 

Low-frequency impact and control are delivered through a combination of six flown KS21 in omni mode and six ground-stacked KS28 in an end-fire configuration at 60 Hz, carefully spaced to project a clean, directional low end while reducing rearward energy on stage. Eight K3 out-fills extend coverage to the sides, six Kara II in-fills shape the near field, and a combination of three A15 Wide and three X8 cabinets ensure seamless tonal continuity across the lip of the stage. 

The system is powered by LA12X amplified controllers housed in custom racks produced by the rental company to streamline network and power connectivity during daily load-ins. Processing flows through a fully redundant Milan-AVB network anchored by a P1 processor, which receives an AES feed from Plisson’s Midas Pro HD96 before distributing audio over AVB via LA-RACK II AVB and LS10 switches. 

To ensure a consistent sonic signature from one city to the next, the team relies heavily on L-Acoustics Soundvision. Rigging, coverage, SPL distribution and tonal balance are modelled in advance, while Autofilter and synchronised zoning groups help achieve a predictable and repeatable result — even under tight touring schedules. 

Consistent Impact — From First Note to Final Applause 
Three hours. That’s the timeline from truck opening to a fully calibrated system ready for showtime — a testament to both the efficiency of the design and the crew’s familiarity with the workflow. Throughout the tour, the system has delivered without failure, maintaining stable FOH reference and consistent show quality across all venues.  

The artist, band members and technical teams have responded positively to the sonic results, particularly noting the clarity of the mix, the precision of the stereo image, and the controlled yet impactful low end. Musicians report excellent comfort in their in-ear mixes, while audiences across different venues have experienced consistent coverage and immersive sound.  

Reflecting on the production, Plisson’s advice to other sound companies is characteristically direct: “Stay flexible, trust your ears, work closely with your system engineer, and never underestimate the importance of low-frequency control. And above all, choose a system you truly know and feel comfortable with — it makes all the difference on tour.” 

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