Press Release

L-Acoustics K Series Elevates Auditory Experience for Summer Concert Series at Yorkshire’s Historic Piece Hall L-Acoustics K Series Elevates Auditory Experience for Summer Concert Series at Y...

HALIFAX, UNITED KINGDOM – September 2023 – The Piece Hall, Yorkshire’s most significant secular building and the world’s only remaining Georgian cloth hall, has stood as a symbol of the region’s rich history since its construction in 1779. As a hub for trading ‘pieces’ of woven woolen fabric, this architectural marvel has seamlessly blended commerce and culture from its inception. Today, it continues to inspire and engage, hosting an array of site-specific performances and contemporary music concerts as part of its ‘Live at The Piece Hall’ summer season of gigs, featuring top-tier artists such as The Lumineers, Limp Bizkit, UB40 ft. Ali Campbell, The Charlatans, and Johnny Marr. 

A wide angle view of The Piece Hall stage, featuring an L-Acoustics K Series sound system
A close up view of some of the 12 L-Acoustics X15 HiQ monitors on stage at The Piece Hall Summer Series, during the performances by The Charlatans and Johnny Marr

With its unique layout and 5,500-person capacity, The Piece Hall presents unique acoustic challenges, including a stage that is positioned in the corner, an open courtyard, and VIP balconies. The PA system had to deliver high-quality sound to an audience standing in compact spaces while minimizing spill behind the stage.

Hull-based L-Acoustic Certified Partner, HPSS Ltd., shares a longstanding relationship with The Piece Hall team, built on a mutual commitment to creating high-quality sound experiences. HPSS has been working with The Piece Hall since 2017, as the ‘Live at The Piece Hall’ events have grown in both popularity and ambition. 

Tasked with designing a sound system for the ‘Live at The Piece Hall’ series, HPSS worked on the venue’s brief that included a noise containment objective since The Piece Hall is located in a town center. “For the 2023 events, there was a requirement for a sound system capable of delivering premium audio throughout the entire audience while respecting the local surroundings,” explains Hugh Jones, Managing Director and Sound Engineer at HPSS. “To deliver on this brief, the L-Acoustics K2 Series was the obvious choice, not only to enhance the sound quality but also to provide comprehensive coverage and a system that would inspire confidence in visiting sound engineers.” HPSS Project Manager and Sound Engineer Iain Firth turned to Soundvision, L-Acoustics’ 3D audio modeling software, to design a system that would fulfill the audio quality requirements while keeping noise spill to nearby neighbors at a minimum. “We use a combination of L-Acoustics K2 for the main hangs and Kara II for the side arrays with A series enclosures as front-fill”, Firth explains.

 A side view of the front stage showcasing an L-Acoustics sound system aimed to provide comprehensive coverage all along the extensive plateau
An audience view of The Piece Hall Stage showcasing L-Acoustics K2 main hangs and Kara II side arrays with L-Acoustics A Series enclosures as front-fill

The typical configuration for the summer concert series, overseen by lead System Tech Mark Hughes, consists of a left/right array of 12 L-Acoustics K2 per side, accompanied by 18 units of KS28 subwoofers to extend low frequency for this large system’s format. Four center-flown L-Acoustics Kara II serve the front rows of the audience as the front fills are, for sightline reasons, lower than usual. Out-fill is provided by an additional 6 Kara II per side while five A10 Focus and two A15 Focus are spaced evenly across the front of the stage for lip-fill. Musicians onstage benefit from a monitor system consisting of 12 X15 HiQ as well as two KS21 compact subwoofers. Four ARCS on top of two SB28 per side provide side-fill. The entire system is powered by 19 LA12X and four LA4X amplified controllers. 

“Our goal is to present the artists in the best possible light,” continues Jones. “L-Acoustics instills confidence, both for its superior sound quality and also for its user-friendliness. We have quite a tight window to run the sound check, starting at 4:00 p.m. for the headliner and a couple of support bands, and the show must start promptly at 6:00 p.m.  Therefore, it’s essential to have a reliable sound system that engineers can trust to produce exceptional sound in a limited time frame.  Moreover, when artists bring their own engineers, it’s important that they feel comfortable with the system. L-Acoustics delivers on all these fronts.”

An audience view of The Piece Hall main stage, showcasing the left/right array of 12 L-Acoustics K2
A side view of L-Acoustics K2 main hangs and and two L-Acoustics A15 Focus, spaced evenly across the front of the stage

Martin Clarke, Production Manager at The Piece Hall, concludes: “At this year’s ‘Live at The Piece Hall’ summer gigs, we wanted to continue building on our reputation for a quality sound experience for artists and visiting engineers.  We’ve continued our relationship with HPSS, who have delivered a design that met our values and goals.  The feedback from engineers, artists, audiences, and our neighbors has been excellent.  This is a testament to an excellent product and first-class design.”

A side view of L-Acoustics K2 main hangs for The Cult performance at the Piece Hall Summer Series.