Vortex Dance Festival Debuts with Groundbreaking Sound Control

Skyeline Live Prevents Sound Escape from EWS Arena Throughout 12-Hour EDM Event

The inaugural Vortex Dance Festival electrified Göppingen’s EWS Arena, immersing 4,000 fans in 12 continuous hours of techno, trance, and hardcore music. Powered by Martin Audio’s flagship Wavefront Precision line array series, the event promised a transcendent experience, which the organisers described as “a sonic adventure that you won’t want to miss.”

Hosting such a high-energy event in EWS Arena, typically the home of Bundesliga handball club FRISCH AUF!, posed significant challenges due to its central location amidst shops and residential areas. Ensuring minimal noise disruption was crucial for the festival’s success and future viability. Martin Audio’s Wavefront Precision systems, renowned for their precise offsite noise control, rose to the occasion.

Jürgen Schuster of Skyeline Live, responsible for the event’s technical setup, confirmed the success: "There were no noise complaints and zero problems with the volume for the audience." He credited Martin Audio’s advanced DISPLAY software for its role in controlling the WPS and WPC line arrays, stating, "I was able to calculate the entire system cleanly and deploy it accordingly, allowing precise predictions of the system's behavior in terms of sound levels."

The sound system configuration included 24 Martin Audio WPC units as the main system (12 per side), supported by eight WPS units for front- and side-fill. To manage the critical sub frequencies, six towers of three SX218 subs (in a cardioid setup) were utilised, along with four additional SX218 units for DJ monitoring. Powering the rig were 12 of Martin Audio’s iK42 multi-channel, process-controlled amplifiers in a three-box resolution setup.

Schuster highlighted two key Martin Audio technologies as pivotal to the event’s success: the scalable resolution of the Wavefront Precision loudspeakers and the acoustic optimisation via DISPLAY simulation software. This combination allowed for precise sound solutions that minimised offsite sound emissions while delivering exceptional audio quality to the attendees.

The festival’s success was further underscored by the positive reactions from the artists. "They didn't want to leave at all," Schuster revealed. "It's normal for an act to come, deliver their set, and then go, but at the Vortex Festival, the acts enjoyed it so much that they stayed for hours after their performance."

Running from 7 PM to 7 AM, the Vortex Festival demanded a reliable sound system capable of continuous operation. Schuster’s confidence in Martin Audio systems, built over years of experience, was fully justified. He praised the sonic coherence across different series and the ease of integration, noting, "WPC and WPS are different size formats but they fit together perfectly in all technical respects—phase response and so on. With many manufacturers, this provides problems as the speakers don't fit together in terms of sound. This is certainly not an issue with Martin Audio, as the different series work wonderfully together."

For more information, visit Martin Audio.