Ford Audio Drives Pacific Northwest's First L-Acoustics KARA Rig

Tri-Cities-based sound reinforcement and AV service/rental provider Ford Audio Service has now taken delivery of the first L-Acoustics KARA system in Washington state. The initial order was comprised of 24 KARA, accompanied by 12 SB18 and eight SB28 subs, four 12XT coaxial monitors, and eight LA8 amplified controllers.

Located on the southern edge of Washington, Ford Audio is well positioned to service corporate clients, venues, festivals and regional tours throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

"We've had several rigs in our 17-year history, and this time we wanted the best modular array that money could buy to move our company forward," says owner Gary Ford. "We looked at other systems, of course, but ultimately felt that L-Acoustics offered the best package, not to mention a longstanding history with top artists and the Rental Network to back it up."

According to Ford, the company had initially considered purchasing a V-DOSC system in 2006, but he claims it was "too big of a jump" for his company at the time. "KARA, however, fits our business model perfectly," he points out. "We needed a ton of flexibility, and KARA hits it spot on. It's a lightweight, highly scalable, turnkey package that's heavy hitting and rider friendly. And what can I say about the DOSC waveguide? Absolutely nothing compares to it in terms of fidelity."

Ford describes the SB28 subwoofer with equally flattering praise. "The port design is a milestone in sub technology; the amount of output the SB28 achieves with little to no port turbulence is amazing," he says. "Never before have we had a system that hits every note from 25Hz to 20kHz without any holes and still sounds so warm and musical. There are other 'flat' systems out there, but compared to this one, they sound sterile and lifeless."

In the few short months since adding the KARA system, Ford Audio has been busily delighting his clients with it. "We've done quite a few shows already with the rig and the results have been outstanding every time," Ford notes. "We had a show at a large theater in Seattle where the house audio engineer made it a point to tell the promoter that it was the best sounding system that had ever been in his venue."