Global Citizen Festival Unites 60,000 in Central Park With JBL Professional VTX System For the 13th consecutive year, Firehouse Productions supplied the sound for the Global Citizen Festival in New York City's Central Park, where more than 60,000 attendees gathered to see performances by Shakira, Cardi B and other international artists. To achieve even coverage across the park's expansive Great Lawn, Firehouse deployed a JBL Professional VTX system powered by Crown amplifiers. The system included 76 JBL VTX V25-II-CS loudspeakers for mains and delays, 36 VTX G28 subwoofers in a cardioid configuration, six VTX S28 subwoofers on the sides, and 20 VTX A8 loudspeakers used for front fill and out fill. The entire system was powered by 54 Crown I-Tech 4x3500HD amplifiers. Firehouse account manager Vinny Siniscal credited JBL's Venue Synthesis software as a key factor in the system's accuracy and efficiency. "Venue Synthesis really is the star of the story," he said. "It allows us to forecast and show the client exactly what kind of coverage they're going to get across the park. This was the second year in a row we didn't even run a drop of pink noise. We did all the programming in advance, turned it on, and it was right there out of the box." Firehouse has managed audio for every Global Citizen Festival held in Central Park, refining its process to meet strict Parks Department requirements for environmental protection and noise control. With limited time to offload four semis of equipment and restrictions on ground contact, efficiency and precision are essential. Siniscal noted that advancements in JBL's rigging and amplification technology have helped streamline setup without compromising quality. Siniscal noted that in the past, his team would come in at 9pm and sometimes still be there at 9am, but now they unload at 9 p.m. and by midnight they are able to walk away. Siniscal praised the ease of setup, saying "The technology has gotten to the point where, dare I say, it's easy." 
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