CirqueTech: Quidam Soundscape

Have you ever wondered what technology goes into bringing each Cirque du Soleil show to life musically? In September 1996, Theater Crafts International (TCI) magazine took a peek into Cirque du Soleil’s Quidam – then, the newest touring show – and reviewed the music technology (specificially the speakers) the production was using. While this information is older and may now be out-of-date, it does provide a unique opportunity to understand what kind of technology goes into bringing Cirque productions to life musically:

  • Quidam has six (6) speaker systems of various sizes
  • This system consists of one (1) large system and five (5) smaller systems.
  • The large system comprises of fifteen (15) Meyer Sound MSL-4 loud speakers
  • These are used primarily for crowd coverage.
  • The five smaller systems are comprised of…
    • System One: The Left and Right PAs used for music – four (4) Meyer Sound MSL-4s, two (2) Meyer Sound 650-Ps self powered sub-woofers, and one (1) Meyer Sound UPM-2 per side (used for stage coverage).
    • System Two: Hung from the cupola and used primarily for vocals – seven (7) Meyer Sound MSL-4s, one for each seating zone.
    • System Three: Hung from the tent masts and used for delay and upper seating areas – eight (8) Meyer Sound UPL-1s and two (2) Meyer Sound UPL-2s.
    • System Four and Five: Used for sub-bass special effects – six (6) Renkus-Heinz surround speakers and four (4) Electro-Voice DML-2812s, which were already part of Cirque’s arsenal.

  • Other equipment used in Quidam’s sound design are…
    • Level Control Systems Cue Control software for surround and triggering.
    • Garwood monitor systems for acoustics and reverb.
    • Countryman Isomax headsets
    • SPL Meter
    • SIM (“Source Independent Measurement”) System II to measure, analyze and adjust the acoustics.
  • Equipment List by Company:
    • Front of house mixing console: Ramsa Panasonic
    • Sub-Mix Console: Yamaha
    • Automation System Software: Level Control Systems
    • MIDI Controllers: Peavey; Lexicon
    • Line Amplifiers: JL Cooper
    • Playback/record equipment: Panasonic; Sony, Teac
    • Signal processing: Lexicon; Yamaha, Aphex; BSS; DBX; Sumetric; Klark Teknik; Meyer; Rane; Audio Control.
    • Speaker processors: Meyer; Electro-Voice
    • Amplifiers: Crown
    • Speakers: Meyer; Renkus-Heinz; Electro-Voice
    • Monitor Equipment: Mackie; White; Garwood; Peavey; Stewart; Sony
    • Microphones and accessories: Shure; Sennheiser; Rapco; Whirlwind; Countryman; AKG; Atlas; Vega
    • Power distribution equipment: Square D; Socapex; L5-20; Best Power
    • Communications equipment: Clear-Com; Beyer; Vega; HME
    • Video Equipment: Sony; Panasonic; Ikegami; Cosmicar
    • Paging equipment: Galaxy; Crown

    Want to learn more? Check out the links below to obtain specific information on the speaker systems and equipment listed in this article:

    { Source: Meyer Sound / Theater Craft International }