England – Opened last year, Vaillant Live is a dynamic, purpose-built, 3500-capacity destination for concerts, family events, sports, and conferencing. Part of the Becketwell Regeneration scheme, and owned by Derby City Council, the venue is sponsored by leading heating systems manufacturer Vaillant, and operated by premier live events company ASM Global. As Derby’s new flagship state-of-the-art entertainments hub, Vaillant Live is set to bring the widest possible range of artists and performers to the city, and has been equipped with cutting-edge technology to meet the demands of its varied programme.
Specialist venue consultants IPW created an innovative, flexible, and scalable layout for Vaillant Live, which in addition to its main auditorium boasts a 400-capacity second space. IPW’s Neil Woodger specified a JBL VTX A8 sound system for the main space and collaborated with Mark Watt of Live Technology (JBL’s UK distributor) on its design. Part of the wider JBL VTX series the VTX A8 is a dual 8” compact line array loudspeaker with 110° dispersion designed for mid-sized rental and installation applications or as auxiliary support for larger VTX systems.
Hull-based integrator, NuWay Audio Visual, installed the main auditorium system comprising 26 x JBL VTX A8 (13 per side) with 8 x JBL VTX B18 subwoofers (4 per side). Vaillant Live also purchased a smaller JBL SRX910 powered line array system for portable use as a pop-up PA in different spaces across the venue. Part of the JBL SRX900 Series, the SRX910 is a 10-inch two-way active line array with built-in DSP and amplification offering a plug and play experience without any compromise of consistency and optimum performance. The second system at Vaillant Live comprises 8 x SRX910 and a pair of SRX928 subs, enabling the venue to flexibly cater for a wide range of applications.
With Vaillant Live now up and running as the cornerstone of Derby’s ambitious plans for the future of the Arts in the city, the venue’s Technical Manager Callum Jones is full of praise for the JBL systems: “The VTX system in the main auditorium is performing exactly as we anticipated it would, providing great coverage for the entire auditorium. The SRX system has proved to be excellently suited for easy setups in the venue’s smaller spaces.”
Callum also comments on the support received from Live Technology which he describes as pivotal to the successful opening of the new venue: “Live Technology played a vital role in the implementation of the auditorium’s new system, and we really couldn’t have wished for better support for our site engineers. They stepped up as and when required to make sure the system was fit and ready for our opening events, with the result that we’ve had a very positive response to the audio from both guests and visiting sound engineers.”
