Mickey’s Black Box is a unique live performance venue on the Rock Lititz campus that features local, regional, and touring national acts. An upgraded Cohesion PA with increased application flexibility and seamless audience coverage showcases the venue as a premier listening space and center for creative expression within the greater community.
Mickey’s Black Box desired an audio system upgrade that would honor its legacy of serving the region with the best-quality sound in its class. They sought flown arrays to direct energy off the stage and fill speakers that could better match the flexibility of the venue space, which hosts everything from local open mic nights to national acts. Crucially, the management at Mickey’s Black Box needed to ensure the tonality of the system was exceptional for the intimate 650-capacity venue.
Two arrays of eight Cohesion CO10 were hung left-right, and a center pack of three Cohesion CSB218i was flown in cardioid configuration with an additional two CSB218i ground stacked. The top four enclosures in eachCO10 array utilized 120° horizontal dispersion horn inserts, while the bottom four enclosures in the arrays used 80°. The fill speakers can change depending on the venue’s needs: a standard deployment is four Cohesion CF28 across the stage, and when seating is deployed for “theater mode,” the trim Cohesion CF24are the solution. Clair Global installed the system.
“We’re carving out a niche with our fidelity. It’s not typical for a room our size to have this level of quality,” said Margaret Cooper, Director of Mickey’s Black Box. TheCSB218i—the integration-specific version of the industry-beloved Cohesion CP218II+ subwoofer—in the center pack direct the low end energy off the stage and to the crowd. Upon installation, artists immediately commented on reduced stage noise and the tighter bass of their instruments. 120° inserts on the top portions of the CO10 array cover the wider second-floor balcony area, while 80°inserts on the bottom enclosures of the arrays narrow the dispersion to match the stage-area seating and avoid hitting the highly reflective side walls. When the venue switches to its “theater mode,” the slim Cohesion CF24 have a greatly diminished visual impact, compared to larger market alternatives, on those whosit close to the stage.
“I’ve been in production for thirty years, and I know when a venue just sounds good. With the CO10 and the hung subs, the dB levels we’re pushing versus what we’re feeling…it shouldn’t be possible. Honestly, I think the room is near-perfect.”
