KIVA Installed in Friends University's Sebits Auditorium

L-ACOUSTICS certified partner Event Systems of Wichita, Kansas, reports that it recently designed and installed a KIVA-KILO system at Sebits Auditorium on the campus of Friends University, a private Christian liberal arts school also in Wichita.

Located in the Riney Fine Arts Center, the intimate 465-seat Sebits Auditorium serves as the primary performance space for the university and hosts a busy schedule of performances, from musical theatre and ballet to jazz, choir, and orchestra.

According to Event Systems' Josh Gordon, the venue now features a stereo line source array system comprised of a dozen KIVA enclosures paired with two KILO low-frequency extension cabinets. Two coaxial 12XT systems were also purchased by the school to serve as onstage side-fill systems for ballet performances, but can be used for a variety of applications. All systems are powered by a total of three LA4 amplified controllers housed in an equipment room downstairs.

"We flew our own KIVA rig in the room several months ago for a concert by The Four Freshmen and everyone there was absolutely knocked out by the sound," Gordon recalls. "The very next week, we were told that getting a similar system installed had suddenly become a 'high priority' for the university."

With the new L-Acoustics system now finally in place, Riney Fine Arts Center director of technical services Robert Hett is extremely satisfied with its performance. "We just had our first jazz vocal ensemble concert in the room a few weeks ago, which is typically a very difficult show to mix because the singers are having to compete with a 20-piece big band blasting away," he says. "But with the KIVA system, this one was so different. Instead of completely maxing out all of our levels, we actually had to turn the vocalists down for a change. It was just really, really awesome."

Gordon adds that the university appreciates that the KIVA arrays "just disappear in the room" due to their tiny size and wide placement, as well as the fact that the compact KILO enclosures deliver enough low-end reinforcement for the space, the company says.