KV2 Audio brings new depth and clarity to the University of Bradford’s Great Hall

“Twice a year, the Great Hall hosts graduations, with roughly ten ceremonies during each season,” says Nick Cragg, Audio Visual Architect at the university. “The space is also used for lectures, exams, open days and welcome week events, team meetings via the built-in Microsoft Teams system, and it’s often hired by external organisations.” All of these uses require intelligible spoken audio, sufficient headroom, and even coverage, something the previous system was failing to deliver.

“For the last few years, my colleague Jonathan Marsden and I had been hoping to install a new sound system in the Great Hall,” continues Cragg. “We’re both big audio fans, and the system we had wasn’t doing the space justice.” In a venue regularly filled with students and visitors, relying on the audience to stay quiet was never realistic. The university needed a system capable of providing clarity, power and full coverage from the front of the stage to the balcony. Cragg and Marsden found their answer in Czech loudspeaker manufacturer, KV2 Audio.

After hearing several loudspeaker options that failed to meet their expectations, the pair attended Integrated Systems Europe in Barcelona. “It just so happened that we stumbled upon a KV2 demo,” Cragg recalls. “We had never heard of KV2 until then, but we were immediately impressed by the quality of the loudspeakers. We had been searching for powerful sound suitable for both speech and media playback, and KV2 offered exactly that.” They visited KV2’s booth to discuss solutions for the university’s requirements. “The KV2 team is incredibly helpful. A relationship was established there and then as we bonded over our shared passion for sound.”

Smaller KV2 systems have since been deployed in a couple of lecture theatres across the campus, but it was not until earlier this year that funding became available for a complete system overhaul of the Great Hall. “Over the past couple of years, KV2 helped us design a system that would meet the demands of the space,” says Cragg. “It needed to be powerful, reliable, easy for visiting users to operate, but most importantly, it had to deliver the same quality all the way to the back of the room,” he explains. “As soon as we got the go-ahead from the university, we purchased the system.”

Comprising twenty loudspeakers, the new system was installed by Roche AV Pro, the university’s AV partner and contractor. “We were blown away by the sound quality of the previous KV2 installs in the Horton Barn Lecture Theatre and Norcroft Building,” comments Stafford Lund, Sales Manager for Roche AV Pro. “Their products deliver the clarity and impact that the university requires, making the decision to use KV2 again for the Great Hall project a no-brainer. Once again, both ourselves and the university’s technical department knew it would deliver an outstanding audio experience.”

At the heart of the system are two ESR106 active driven, three-way column arrays, designed for precise vocal and music reproduction in acoustically challenging environments. “We have two ESR106 arrays flown as the main left and right systems for the stage,” states Cragg. “They really carry the whole system, providing controlled coverage throughout the auditorium.” Concealed below the stage are four high-output, active driven ES1.8 subwoofers to reinforce low-frequency reproduction.

Two centrally flown ESD12 full-range, two-way loudspeakers provide additional coverage to the floor and balcony. The first supports the lower auditorium from front to back, while the second reinforces the upper balcony. “The balcony was losing a lot of bass with the previous system, so the ESD12s give us the power needed to extend low-end coverage up to this area,” explains Cragg. Beneath the balcony, four ESD25 passive systems act as delays to ensure balanced audio for the tiered seating at the back. Two ESD36 passive loudspeaker units deployed to the left and right of the balcony complement the spoken word and music reproduction from the ESR106 mains.

Finally, four ultra-compact CS6 passive loudspeakers were flexibly installed along the front of the stage as infills. “Audiences are often seated behind the left and right loudspeakers, so the infills provide that extra bit of amplification to make sure nobody misses anything,” Cragg adds. Firing in the opposite direction, towards the stage, are two ESD36 loudspeakers for fold-back, allowing those performing on stage to be part of the audio experience. “We followed all of KV2’s advice throughout, also pairing each loudspeaker with its designated amplifier. The ESR106 arrays run on an ESR2600D amplifier, while the ES1.8 subwoofers are powered by EPAK2500R units.”

The Great Hall has a rich musical history, having hosted several major bands early in their careers. Although not currently used for live music, Cragg is keen to explore that possibility again. “This KV2 system offers enormous potential and flexibility for a range of events,” he comments. “We recently ran the first graduation ceremony using the system and the improvement in vocal intelligibility was remarkable. Visiting users have also found it easy to set up and have been blown away by the sound quality.

“The ongoing support from KV2 has been exceptional,” concludes Cragg. “Their guidance helped us finally achieve the system we always wanted, and they continue to share advice on how to get the most out of it. I don’t think I’ll ever go another way for large-scale audio. With KV2, I know I’m in good hands.”

KV2 system setup:

• 2× ESR106
• 4× ES1.8
• 2× ESD12
• 4× ESD25
• 4× ESD36
• 4× CS6
• 1× ESR2600D

Installation and integration: 

• Roche AV Pro