Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas Receives Crystal-Clear Audio Support from Cohesion PA

	"I was pleased how well the CO10 was able to handle the capacity, up to 8,000 people, in that room," says Bennett.

In May, more than 30,000 attendees flocked to the Venetian in Las Vegas, Nevada for the Bitcoin Conference, which gathers annually to unite leaders, developers, miners, founders, and everyday investors in the Bitcoin space. This year's conference included more than 5,000 companies and 400+ speakers, all supported throughout the three-day event by a Cohesion audio system.

With tens of thousands of guests eager to take in the conference, preserving sightlines to the stages was as much a priority as was vocal reproduction and full-room coverage. Furthermore, the architecture of the rooms -- concrete walls and pillars, low trim height -- required the audio system to be lightweight and flexible in its rigging capabilities. "Cohesion was the correct choice for several reasons," explains front-of-house mixer Stewart Bennett. "The cabling structure offered the least amount of loss; it yielded maximum fidelity in this situation, even in excess of 380', using the HID cabling. The sightlines were a major priority, with LED panels on five finger trusses in front of the stage, so the client needed as few obstructions as possible. With the limited trim height in the venue, it made a lot of sense to have Cohesion as the specified PA."

"While we were restricted with how much we could hang. Cohesion gave us a little more leeway," says system engineer Andrew Kastrinelis. "Factoring in cable weight, amplifiers, etc., Cohesion allowed for six-deep hangs, and it covered perfectly."

"The people involved in this were top-notch. I was flattered to be part of this team," says Bennett. "This system was designed so thoroughly. In these corporate situations, you don't need horsepower as much as you need coverage, reliability, fidelity, and ease of operation, which all mandate having the highest level of quality of equipment."

The Bitcoin Conference utilized three separate stages for speakers and performances: the main stage, Nakamoto, and two additional, the Mining and the Genesis. Clair Global provided the deployment each night.

For the Nakamoto Stage, which was the primary event space, the main PA comprised 62 Cohesion CO10 in nine hangs of six and one of eight to account for the asymmetrical shape of the room, which featured VIP seating sections. The Mining and Genesis Rooms used two ground stacks of four CO10 each on either side of the stage.

"This was my first time with the CO10, and the low end is so robust," says Bennett. "The ability to get down to 40-50 cycles out of them really brought this thing home. I was pleased how well the CO10 was able to handle the capacity, up to 8,000 people, in that room. Andrew attenuated that [VIP] portion of the PA to match the overall level with a similar tonal character to the rest of the arrays. It was linear and consistent, and it worked well to accomplish what the client wanted for emphasizing audio quality for VIPs."

The results were hangs that "disappeared into the ceiling -- they looked permanent," according to Kastrinelis. "We adjusted the angle to help prevent some reflections, and Cohesion let us do the timing adjustments very easily. Out of the box, you don't need to do too much. It's very simple and quick. Once we had our points, we had the PA floating quickly."

Rounding out the system, one Cohesion CP218 II+ subwoofer was placed per side in each of the three rooms. The Nakamoto room used eight Cohesion CM14 for monitoring on stage for both presenters and the live band that entertained guests during interludes; the Mining and Genesis stages used six CM14 each.

"The design worked well, and we had enough control with the PA to lessen the reflection issues with gain tapering the bottom enclosures," says Bennett.

As Bennett summarizes: "We're the intermediaries between message and listener, and we must make sure that message is received as easily as possible. As an engineer, I cannot be fighting gain-before-feedback or hyper-focusing on potential problems that creep up, because I'll end up missing cues. The uniformity of the audio system ensured the messages were communicated well, even in a tough environment. You could hear the quality of the PA. I didn't feel I was missing anything."