Having won the 2025 Olivier Award for Best Sound Design for Fiddler on the Roof at Regents Park Open Air Theatre, sound designer Nick Lidster revised his solution to meet the requirements of a new, indoor home, the Barbican Theatre. Unlike many conventional proscenium houses, the Barbican relies on chain hoists to fly a PA, making a line array the preferred solution. Happily, sound supplier Autograph offered Lidster the very latest technology, in the form of d&b’s CCL (Compact Cardioid Line Array) system.
The new CCL system – bringing d&b’s renowned directivity control to its most compact line array yet – proved the ideal solution for sound designer Nick Lidster at the Barbican Theatre. the XSL – the smallest member of d&b’s ground-breaking SL – Series. “I had used the XSL cardioid system in the States and had enjoyed the extra headroom on the radio mic system before feedback,” he explains. “They also sounded good. So, when Autograph offered the new CCL for the Fiddler on the Roof run at the Barbican, I was happy to try them.”
CCL continues the evolution of d&b’s outstanding directivity control and low-frequency cardioid performance characterised by the SL-Series, now making it possible in a more compact, lightweight and efficient system, suited to a wider range of smaller, more intimate applications. Lidster was confident that this new system would deliver the control he needed to ensure the sound coverage was clear and consistent throughout the auditorium. What’s more, the CCL achieves this directivity, for the first time, in a passive design – enabling increased efficiency in amplification. “With the CCL system I would be able to use one D40 amplifier channel to drive two boxes,” he says, “which is far more efficient for a theatre PA system – and for Autograph as a hire company.”
This efficiency meant the two main hangs, each of 16 CCL, were powered by just two of d&b’s 4-channel D40 amplifiers per side – one channel per pair of cabinets. As an experienced, long-term customer of d&b, the Autograph team required little support from the manufacturer, reaching out only to obtain a 3D CAD file of the Barbican Theatre via d&b’s ArrayCalc software. Thanks to the intuitive nature of the d&b workflow, this gave Lidster everything he needed.
The two main arrays, each with 12 CCL8 cabinets (80° dispersion) above four CCL12s (120° dispersion), were complemented by an additional centre cluster of four CCL12s for down-fill, with LF reinforcement from six CCL Subs. Finally, a selection of d&b Y7P and the wider dispersion Y10P point source cabinets serve the gallery truss system and side-fills, completing the desired consistency for the audience. The system’s promised cardioid performance delivered real benefits. For this show, Lidster is employing a mix of miniature boom and lavalier microphones for the 27 cast members. He says, “The rear rejection from the PA certainly helps to even out the difference between them. The level and clarity differences between the two types of microphone systems is, to an extent, equalised. I think the new HF driver and overall sound of the CCL arrays was very natural and I required very little CPL to get the sound I needed,” Lidster adds, referring to the Coupling control feature for line array correction within d&b’s ArrayCalc software. The CCL boxes also ‘pack a punch’ when required. Everything seems to have been well considered in the build of this product.”
And of course, the CCL also offers the practical advantages of d&b’s ‘system reality’ approach – including flying and mounting accessories, and carts. “The production sound engineer, Larry Golland, said the CCLs were nice and easy to rig and fly,” says Lidster. “They also looked very neat and the right scale in this venue.”
