Landmark Manhattan Center Studios Upgrades To Dual Yamaha CL5 Digital Audio Consoles

Manhattan Center Studios, a staple in the New York City entertainment, corporate, and cultural event markets, recently upgraded from two Yamaha M7CL Digital Audio Consoles in the 1,200-seat Grand Ballroom to dual Yamaha CL5 Digital Audio Consoles along with two Rio-3224-D input/output boxes. The Rios are providing the CLs with an additional 72 inputs and 48 outputs.

“We’ve had our Yamaha M7CLs for a number of years now, and they’ve served us well; no down time at all, states Roy Clark, Head of Audio at the Manhattan Center. It was time to upgrade, and the CLs have a great reputation. We had worked on them as freelancers and had good experiences. And, Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems as a Company is very helpful in not only support of their products but in training engineers on how to use them. There are also becoming more of a standard these days, appearing on rider requests.”

Regarding the Dante networking, Clark said they are running a single cat6 cable connecting the CL console to the Rio running a simple daisy chain network. They also have an Auvitran MY16-ES64 card installed in the front of house CL console that feeds their NEXO 242 processors for the main PA (a previously installed NEXO GEO S12 line array).

“Sometimes, we need to send digital audio to the TV studio in the building next door, so we’ve integrated our Auvitran AVM-500 that sends (and returns) audio to their core, where a Yamaha NAI-48 decodes the Auvitran stream into an AES format, Clark says. There are media converters in between that convert Ethernet to fiber and back. That negates any 60hz hum that originates from differing electrical sources of the two different buildings - a nice feature.”

Clark notes that they always keep the Rupert Neve Designs Portico 5043 inserted on the mix bus. “It’s not always compressing, possibly barely hitting (depending on the program material), but it has a really nice sound to it. We also like to use the Opt.2A on vocals, the U76 on guitars, and the Dynamic EQ on podium mics to solve problems there, too.”

Since the CLs have been installed, they have been used for a Dalai Lama presentation (speaking in Tibetan to the Chinese community). Manhattan Center also used the consoles for a TNA wrestling event for live broadcast and taping with audience and a TNT fashion show. The Grand Ballroom also entertains corporate presentations, receptions (dinner seating 550), DJ gigs, bands, string quartets, etc.

“The response to our new Yamaha CLs has been excellent, Clark adds. Most noticeably has been the sound quality improvement. It’s analogous to the difference between 16-bit and 24-bit where the depth and impact of the sound shows up. Even on a Lavalier mic and podium, it’s noticeable. The CL is a very solid sounding console.”

For more information on The Grand Ballroom at Manhattan Center Studios, visit www.mcstudios.com.