Alcons Audio Goes to eTownRecognized nationally as a radio music program and broadcast on over 300 stations in North America, eTown (etown.org) completed the renovation of its own 17,000-sq.ft. specialty venue called eTown Hall in Boulder, Colorado last year. The weekly radio broadcast heard from coast-to-coast features performances and interviews with many of today's top musical artists. The venue was formerly a church of the Nazarene built in 1922. Transforming the 90-year-old building into a state of the art music hall, recording studio, and offices presented multiple challenges. To address these challenges founder and host of eTown, Nick Forster, contracted Sam Berkow of SIA Acoustics to design the acoustics and the sound system for the multipurpose facility. After listening to several different high-end speaker solutions Berkow and Forster chose Alcons Audio's LR14/90 pro-ribbon based line-array system. Forster comments about the choice for Alcons, "Initially, I was leaning towards a different high-end speaker line but Sam insisted I listen to the Alcons systems. Sam worked with David Rahn, Alcons Audio's North American sales manager, to arrange the demonstration. The clarity in the top end of the ProRibbon based systems was immediately apparent and for the kind of music we showcase here at eTown I knew it would do a fantastic job." The ultra-compact line array incorporates two 6.5" high performance woofers and the Alcons Audio RBN401, 4" pro-ribbon drivers. In addition, a stage monitor system and small café rig were designed with Alcons speakers. The stage monitor package includes 6 VR8 and two VR12 enclosures, both two-way systems incorporating 8" and 12" woofers respectively along with the 4" and 6" pro-ribbon HF devices. Powering the systems are the Alcons Audio ALC2st amplifiers and DDP internal digital signal processors. Forster continues: "It's amazing how many people comment about the sound. They almost always say the same things: "it sounds so natural, I feel like I'm 'inside' the music, I've never heard anything like it. Yes, a well-designed room and a great team of engineers help a lot, but those speakers are just what I was hoping they would be. The smooth top end is so well suited to acoustic instruments and the human voice -- both spoken and sung. It's a perfect compliment to eTown Hall." Karen Shaviv, eTown front-of-house engineer: "the Alcons LR14 pro-ribbon box has no problem providing the warmth one would expect out of a speaker enclosure twice the size. The real feat, however, is the buttery smoothness of the top end, even at higher SPL where other boxes tend to get 'screechy.' This is especially important for eTown tapings which have a good deal of conversation, so vocal intelligibility is a huge plus." Also many of the visiting musicians have commented on the smooth, natural response of the Alcons monitors. Forster: "With the recently added VR monitors we're able to let the musicians on stage share in that same technology, that same smooth high end. They are always amazed by the quality of the sound coming from such a small box. We couldn't be happier with the Alcons system." 
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