L-Acoustics Elevates Echostage Electronic dance music (EDM) has a rich, often overlooked history in Washington, DC, with an underground scene that flourished decades ago, blending house, breaks, and garage across local clubs and parties. The area also nurtured a next-generation electronic scene in the '90s and early '00s, helping lay the groundwork for some of the city's most celebrated EDM venues. Topping that venue list is Echostage, a 30,000+ sq.-ft. converted warehouse in DC's Langdon neighborhood, redesigned as a premier EDM destination. Upon opening in 2012, the 3,000-capacity hybrid nightclub and concert hall quickly became a defining force in nightlife and live entertainment, consistently ranking among the world's best venues, including DJ Mag's #1 venue in the US and #8 globally. In 2020, Insomniac entered into a partnership with Echostage, Project GLOW Fest, and Club GLOW, helping to elevate the venue's national presence. Echostage has continued to host some of the biggest names in music, including Tiesto, Avicii, Mau P, Fisher, Subtronics, Calvin Harris, Lorde, Sam Smith, Disclosure, Kaytranada, Chris Lake, Solomun, Black Coffee, and David Guetta. For a venue built on world-class bookings, the sound system has to keep pace with the artists and their fans who walk through the door, and Echostage was ready to make that move. That meant L-Acoustics, says Pete Kalamoutsos, CEO at Club GLOW and owner of Echostage, CTRL, and Insomniac Events' Project GLOW Festival. "Every year we do our best to elevate the Echostage experience, and our new L-Acoustics L Series sound system -- one of only a handful of permanent installations in the United States -- creates one of the greatest live listening environments in the world," he says. Marc Chauvin, CTO of Showtime Sound, which designed and installed the new sound system, wholeheartedly agrees: "If you look at the EDM world, L-Acoustics is now what's expected. It's in all of the top clubs, and Echostage needed that for the riders of the artists who perform there. The venue's production manager, Matt 'Gonzo' Gonzalez, was really a driving force behind this system's selection. He knows exactly what artists are looking for, and there was never a question about what was going to go in -- L-Acoustics was it from the start." Echostage's new loudspeaker design features compact-yet-powerful left and right mains of one L-Acoustics L2 over one L2D, with each array backed by a hang of four KS28 subs flown in a cardioid configuration. The low end is bolstered by 16 more KS28 in eight stacks of two, lined across the face of the stage. One A15 Focus over two A15 Wide are flown per side as out-fill arrays, while two more pair of A15 Wide are positioned atop the ground subs for front-fill. LA7.16i amplified controllers power all L and A Series enclosures, while LA12X drive the subs. A second system for stage monitoring consists of three Kara II over a KS21 sub on each side of the stage. These are powered by three LA12X and one LA4X. Speaking after the debut weekend for the system, which featured shows by Galantis and KSHMR, Gonzalez praised the results. "The pattern control was impressive. This room really isn't acoustically treated, and it was notable how much less energy and, by extension, how much less excitation of room modes was needed to make it sound full and impactful." As importantly, Gonzalez says the L Series install represents a new chapter in both the club's technical evolution and in live sound technology. "You can sit back and take in the fact that technology is really moving on," he says. "We see these big turning points every 10 or 15 years, these big technological markers, and L Series is clearly one of them. The fact that this system went up so quickly and that it is so consistent is fascinating. It's been an eye-opening experience. We've seen the future, and with L-Acoustics, we've now heard it, too." For more information on Echostage, visit www.echostage.com. . 
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