KV2 Audio » News » KV2 Audio brings unmatched power and clarity to Spoleto Festival USA
1/10/2025
Charleston, USA, October 2025 - For seventeen days and nights each spring, the charming city of Charleston, South Carolina, welcomes hundreds of performers to fill its historic venues with art and culture. Spoleto Festival USA, the American counterpart to Italy’s Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy, serves as a dynamic showcase for world-class talent. This prestigious performing arts event celebrates everything from theatre, opera, and dance to orchestral, jazz, and contemporary music, while fostering a culture of innovation, education, and community. To bring these extraordinary performances to life, KV2 Audio was selected as the official sound partner, delivering state-of-the-art audio to ensure every note, word, and movement resonated with clarity and precision.
Having collaborated with the festival in previous years, sound design and audio specialists Autograph A2D returned to install the 2025 sound system. “We’ve been involved over the years through Sound Designer, Lew Mead,” says Preston Dunnavant, Sound Engineer at Autograph A2D. “In 2023, I took over from Lew as lead Sound Designer for the festival, overseeing the supply and setup of audio equipment across all venues.
“This year, I designed the complete audio system – from microphones to PA – for six venues and provided additional equipment for four others,” Dunnavant continues. “Previously, we supplied and installed KV2’s ESR system for theatre performances in one of Spoleto’s seasonal venues. Based on that success, and my experience hearing them on Broadway shows and at the Milevsko factory, I decided KV2 would be the ideal choice for the festival’s three main venues.”
While for attendees, Spoleto is an incredible opportunity to soak up as much art and culture as possible, from a technician’s point of view, it can present a number of challenges. “We have twelve days to install systems across eight venues in preparation for 120 performances. Then when it’s all over, we’ve got one week to take it all down.” With KV2 as Dunnavant’s preferred audio solution and a tight installation timeline, careful planning and having all equipment prepared in advance were essential. “I spec’d a KV2 system for three venues based on what was available from our sales partner, Masque Sound, who had limited stock at the time,” explains Dunnavant. “Thankfully, through discussions and a factory tour with KV2’s Jonathan Reece, Dominik Krampera, and Sascha Khelifa, we were able to put together a system with what was available from KV2’s Czech and US factories.”
One of the festival’s most spectacular venues is Cistern Yard, an outdoor venue on the grounds of the Charleston College. “This was one of our largest venues,” says Dunnavant. “We used a VHD2.0 system with the VHD1.0 downfill, supported by a VHD2.21 and three VHD2.16 on each side of the stage. Six ESD25 were deployed as front fills, with one ESR215 per side stacked on road cases for out fills, ensuring sound reached across the wide yard.” In a 2,000-capacity venue such as this, the consistent precision and even distribution provided by KV2 is essential for optimising audience experience. Dunnavant was thrilled with the results: “The detail and clarity were like nothing I’d ever heard at the festival before.”
At the Emmett Robinson Theatre – a much smaller venue with a capacity of only 310 people – the setup was more compact. “We deployed one ESR212 system and a single EX1.8 sub on the ground at each side, along with two ESD36 loudspeakers for front fills,” Dunnavant explains. “This system was perfect for the space – minimal but brought phenomenal sound to a variety of performances.”
The Festival Hall, seating 1,000, required careful attention to both power and coverage. "We used two ES1.0 as mains, supported by four ES1.8 and two EX1.8 subs arrayed along the front of the stage, and six ESD5s as front fills," he adds.
“On paper, this system appears a little bit mismatched, but we achieved fantastic results,” notes Dunnavant. “For the design challenges, I have to give a lot of credit to Jonathan for his guidance, as well as the flexibility of KV2 products in a variety of setups and applications. One of our major concerns for the systems was matching low-end and top-end power, but thanks to Jonathan, we found this balance, and it was just a matter of making adjustments when in the venue.”
KV2’s intuitive rigging design made the setup significantly easier than previous years, eliminating the stress of installing, tuning, and managing multiple venues. “Hanging the VHD2.0 was a breeze! It’s much quicker than setting up our usual line array boxes. With the ES1.0, I was even able to rig the speakers on my own. It’s such a powerful loudspeaker in a compact, lightweight package.”
The 2025 Spoleto Festival USA showcased KV2 Audio’s ability to deliver exceptional live sound across diverse venues and performance styles. From the intimate Emmett Robinson Theatre to the expansive Cistern Yard, each system provided powerful audio, crystal-clear clarity, and consistent coverage, elevating the audience experience to new heights. “I was so pleased with the results we got from the KV2 systems,” says Dunnavant. “I got a lot of compliments from the guest engineers about the sound quality. Pete Keppler, the front-of-house engineer for Patti Smith, shared his appreciation for the system’s performance.”
Autograph A2D’s meticulous planning, combined with the flexibility and reliability of KV2’s products, allowed the team to bring every performance to life, showcasing how professional-grade audio technology can transform both artist and audience experiences. “I want to sincerely thank everyone at KV2 for their incredible support with this year’s Spoleto Festival,” Dunnavant adds. “I look forward to more successful collaborations in the future.”
Related links:
Head Office KV2 Audio International spol. s r.o.
Nádražní 936
Milevsko 399 01
Czech Republic
VAT: CZ26051591
Phone: +420 383 809 320 (English)
E-mail: info@kv2audio.com
