Clean sound underground – LD Systems provides sound for VANS pop-up event in Seoul

VANS stand for skating, subcultures and California. Hardly any other shoe brand has managed to maintain its “street credibility” to this day. Special “House of VANS” events also contribute to the success of the US shoe manufacturer regularly. In addition to permanent locations such as in Chicago or London, pop-up events lasting several days are attracting huge numbers of visitors worldwide. In Seoul, South Korea, VANS recently transformed an unused underground station into an urban meeting place, including a market, skate events and a DJ concert. The audio specialists from Sonic Value relied on an extensive LD Systems setup consisting of MAILA, CURV 500, MAUI P900 and more for the elaborate immersive sound reinforcement at the underground station.

“The location was a real challenge,” says Ethan Yoon, Head of Technical Team at Sonic Value. “Stone surfaces almost everywhere, lots of pillars, tubular shape and low ceilings. Due to the almost uninhibited reflections from the hard surfaces, it was clear from the outset that we could not play the room at high levels, but had to rely on a clever multi-zone system to achieve the required immersive and consistent sound distribution.”

“The result convinced everyone. Despite the acoustic challenges, there were no blind spots and no drop in level or sound quality.”
Ethan Yoon, Head of Technical Team, Sonic Value

Surround sound with MAILA & CURV 500

Sonic Value used a double LD Systems MAILA ground stack setup as the main PA for the DJ concerts: MAILA L with two 2×15” MAILA SUB high-performance subwoofers each for the exterior stereo sound reinforcement and a MAILA M with 2×2 MAILA SUBs as the interior stereo system. “Our goal was to create a natural sound image throughout the room that immerses the listener,” explains Ethan Yoon. “For this reason, we added surround systems to the sides and rear of the main PA.” In addition to another MAILA S stereo system at the rear, Sonic Value positioned a total of ten CURV 500 array systems, each consisting of a D SAT duplex satellite and an SLA SmartLink adapter, on stands at the sides and rear. Two additional, identical CURV 500 units were used as front fills in front of the DJ stage to cover the front rows of the audience, which are not fully covered by the MAILA main systems.

“With the MAILA systems, we primarily covered the low frequency range evenly across the entire location,” says Ethan Yoon. The CURV 500s provided support in the mid and high frequencies and, with their precise dispersion behaviour, also ensured an immersive sound image. “The result convinced everyone. Despite the acoustic challenges, there were no blind spots and no drop in level or sound quality.”

“We probably wouldn’t have been able to meet the tight time frame with a conventional speaker system.”
Inho Cheon, Associate Brand Manager, Sonic Value

Fast customisation

Sonic Value has been a MAILA user from the very beginning and has already deployed the Modular All-Round Intelligent Line Array in numerous environments – from concert halls to outdoor events. However, sound reinforcement in an underground station was a first: “We had to adjust the angles of the MAILA satellites several times until we achieved the desired room coverage”, adds Inho Cheon, Associate Brand Manager at Sonic Value. “The EasySplay mechanism has once again proved extremely useful here. We probably wouldn’t have been able to meet the tight time frame with a conventional speaker system.” The MAILA app, which according to Inho Cheon enables “intuitive setup and direct monitoring”, also helped the team achieve this.

MAUI, DAVE & more

In addition to the elaborate main PA, even more LD Systems speaker series were used at the VANS pop-up event in Seoul. A combination of MON 15 A G3 coaxial stage monitors and STINGER SUB 15 A G3 15“ bass reflex subwoofers provided the powerful monitoring for the DJ stage. The neighbouring market area was a little quieter. The VANS store, whose entrance was flanked by three MAUI P900 column PAs by Porsche Design Studio, attracted the largest crowds.

In front of the DJ booth in the market area, Sonic Value placed two DAVE 18 G4X 2.1 PA systems in a DSP-supported interference-free cluster setup, each with two closely neighbouring satellites on a T-stand above the 18” subwoofers. Two MAUI 11 G3 column PAs served as the monitoring system for the reception-style DJ booth – one in black, one in white, based on the iconic chequerboard design of the most famous VANS shoes…