Meyer Sound Shapes a New Sonic Future at Philadelphia’s Academy of Music

The Academy of Music, the oldest operating opera house in the United States, has served as Philadelphia’s grand stage for more than 165 years. Now operated by Ensemble Arts Philly, the historic venue has been outfitted with a discreet, high-performance Meyer Sound system designed to deliver clear, consistent audio throughout the hall while preserving its architectural integrity. The system, which replaced the Academy’s decades-old system, was installed by DBS Audio Systems.

Designed in the Renaissance Revival style with Baroque influences, the horseshoe-shaped auditorium has three balconies and allows a seating capacity of approximately 2,800. Since opening in 1857, it has hosted everything from operatic premieres and symphony concerts to performances by legendary artists, national conventions, and film productions. The Academy remains a crown jewel of Ensemble Arts’ venues, which also include the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts’ Marian Anderson Hall, home to a Meyer Sound LEOPARD-based system installed in 2021.

“The Academy of Music is one of the nation’s most treasured cultural landmarks, serving as a premier destination for our touring Broadway productions, opera, ballet, and special events,” says Ryan Fleur, president and CEO of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts. “With the success of the Meyer Sound system in Marian Anderson Hall—home of The Philadelphia Orchestra—we’ve seen firsthand how this technology elevates the concert experience. Now, with a transformative Meyer Sound installation at the Academy, every guest will enjoy performances with even greater clarity, power, and intimacy.”

“Our experience with the Meyer Sound system in Marian Anderson Hall has exceeded our expectations,” adds Andre Barette, director of production for The Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts. “Once we heard what that system could do, it became clear that we needed to think about the Academy of Music in the same way. With a major season ahead and the celebration of America’s 250th birthday on the horizon, it was the right time.”

Because the Academy’s programming spans genres and formats, flexibility was key. “We present Broadway tours, serve as the home for Opera Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Ballet, and host lectures and speaker series,” Barette says. “Sometimes we’re supporting a full touring sound system; other times we are the full sound system. This design had to support all scenarios, and we had to ensure that every seat—including those under balconies—felt like the front row.”

The same team that had installed the Marian Anderson Hall system, DBS in collaboration with Meyer Sound Director of System Optimization Bob McCarthy, designed the new system. It centers around a main system comprising two ULTRA‑X80 versatile point source loudspeakers, two ULTRA‑X82 versatile point source loudspeakers, and four 750‑LFC low-frequency control elements; along with a distributed four-level balcony system comprising 24 UP‑4slim ultracompact installation loudspeakers for underbalcony fill, eight ULTRA‑X22 XP compact point source loudspeakers along the proscenium edge, and eight UP‑4slim front fills. The system is driven by five Galileo GALAXY 408 Network Platforms and one Galileo GALAXY 816 Network Platform, which manage primary and secondary Milan AVB networks as well as analog backup. All loudspeakers were custom color-matched to blend seamlessly into the ornate interior architecture.

“This was an incredibly challenging room, from both the design and installation perspective,” says Dave Brotman, principal at DBS Audio. “Because of the historical nature of the hall, everything had to disappear visually and still perform sonically.”

To achieve this balance, Brotman’s team, headed by partner Michael Shoulson, built custom tower rigging systems to place the main loudspeakers between two historic columns. “Neither side was square,” Brotman explains. “The ULTRA-X80s fit with maybe half of an inch to spare.”

“We can’t put huge speakers in spots that don’t look appropriate for the architecture,” says Barette. “Meyer Sound was able to color-match the system so well, the speakers literally disappear into the space. You hear the sound, but you don’t really see where it’s coming from. The audience isn’t thinking about the system. They’re just experiencing it.”

Conceived as a lyric opera house, the Academy has a relatively dry acoustic profile, with a reverberation time of around 1.4 seconds. While this posed challenges for unamplified symphonic repertoire in the past, it proves an ideal foundation for the venue’s modern-day amplified programming. The new Meyer Sound system builds on that, enhancing articulation and impact for everything from spoken word and stand-up comedy to contemporary dance and orchestral film presentations.

Realizing the Academy’s ambitious sonic vision took not just the right technology, but the right people—and a deep respect for the hall’s heritage. “At DBS, we feel very honored to be given this project,” says Brotman. “Climbing through the balcony interstitials and into places most people have probably never been, seeing old, hand-hewn beams, was a really special experience. And it was a pleasure collaborating once again with Andre and the staff at the Academy.”

“We’re just beginning to use the system now as we open our season,” says Barette. “But we’ve already received strong feedback from our internal teams and from Opera Philadelphia, who are currently in residence. We expect this to improve the experience for every type of artist and every kind of event. The beauty of it is, our guests won’t necessarily realize the sound system changed; they’ll just walk out saying, ‘Oh, that sounded great.’”