Listening to LEO is really like listening to a very high quality stereo system, with that level of imaging and detail... Everyone has been thrilled with the performance of the system.”
Doug EbeyAudio–Video Manager, Grand Theater, Choctaw Casino Resort
Aiming to become a regional destination for concert entertainment as well as gaming, Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant, Okla. has opened the Grand Theater, a multi-purpose venue featuring one of the largest Meyer Sound LEO Family line array system installations in North America. Since opening with a sellout show by Aerosmith, the Grand Theater has hosted acts such as Kiss, Kid Rock, Boyz II Men, and Kenny Rogers.
“Listening to LEO is really like listening to a very high quality stereo system, with that level of imaging and detail,” reports Doug Ebey, audio–video manager for the theatre. “What impresses me most is that we can get full, in-your-face concert sound and still stay within our preferred level limit, which we cap at 100 dB. Everyone has been thrilled with the performance of the system.”
LEO Family loudspeakers were chosen for the 3,000-capacity venue by the Las Vegas-based consulting firm Coherent Design, which was charged with design and specification.
“The owners asked us for a sound system that would compete with the best venues in the area, including those in nearby Dallas,” says David Starck of Coherent Design. “They wanted to fully support ‘A-level’ acts without bringing in rental systems, and we were confident from the beginning that a LEO-based system would handle anything they would throw at it. We probably could have done the whole system with LYON, but the extra headroom of LEO gives that in-your-face sound with zero distortion. It really takes the sound to another level.
“After the fantastic success of the opening Aerosmith concert, the owners were immediately confident they had a world-class system,” continues Starck. “In fact, I was told that Steven Tyler said from the stage that the room sounds amazing.”
The Grand Theater is a multipurpose venue with front seating removable or telescoping to open a flat floor providing up to 10,000 square feet of event space. Accordingly, the room is equivalent to half of a small arena in volume, with throw distances of 125 feet from the stage to back seats. To ensure uniform coverage with abundant headroom, Starck specified a main system of eight LEO-M over four LYON-M line array loudspeakers per side, four LYON-M loudspeakers as center fill, and two flown arrays of six-each 1100‑LFC low-frequency control elements in a cardioid configuration. Eight JM‑1P arrayable and eight UPJunior VariO loudspeakers supply out fill and front fill, respectively.
Four MJF-212A and 12 USM-1P stage monitors provide onstage foldback, while two UPQ-1P and four JM-1P loudspeakers, one 600-HP subwoofer, and two 1100-LFC elements provide side and drum fill. Drive and optimization is provided by a Galileo Callisto loudspeaker management system with four Galileo Callisto 616 array processors.
System integration for theatre audio, along with all other AV systems in the broader resort expansion, was contracted to FBP Systems, Inc., with engineering by Robert Coggins and Rick Malone and project administration by Mark LaBouff.
Upcoming shows at the Grand Theater include Counting Crows, Rascal Flatts, The Jacksons, Merle Haggard, and Styx.
Choctaw Casino Resort is a AAA Four Diamond resort and entertainment destination in Southeastern Oklahoma. The resort boasts new features and amenities as a result of a two-phase expansion project completed in 2015. The addition of the Spa Tower brings the total number of guest rooms to 776. The recently unveiled multi-purpose, three-level convention/entertainment venue offers over 100,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, seating for more than 3,000 people, and the Oasis Pool area with four tropical pools and private cabanas. The resort’s newest amenity is the region’s premier entertainment complex, The District. At The District, visitors can enjoy Tailgaters sports bar, 20 bowling lanes, a 40-game arcade with laser tag, and a state-of-the-art movie theatre.