D.A.S. Audio the Driving Force Behind Justin Bieber's Jakarta Performance

Located some 12.5 miles from Jakarta, the Sentul International Convention Center (SICC) was recently the site of the Justin Bieber concert. Held on April 23 as part of the artist's My World Tour, Jakarta-based DSS (Don Sistem Suara) rental company was contracted to provide sound reinforcement services. The SICC is Indonesia's largest indoor concert facility and DSS provided a sound system drawn from the Aero and Aero Series 2 catalogs of Valencia, Spain-based D.A.S. Audio.

With the ability to accommodate as many as 11,000 people in its main hall, the SICC is a challenging acoustic environment. Jakarta, Indonesia-based Berlian Entertainment served as the promoter of the event and the firm responsible for contracting DSS to handle the sound reinforcement system. DSS is well known as a provider of sound reinforcement systems throughout the region. The firm previously handled sound services for guitarist Slash's Indonesian tour and they also handled Australian pop star Kylie Minogue's June 27 concert appearance at the SICC-also with the rig from D.A.S. Audio. Donny Hardono, owner of DSS and a highly recognized figure among the region's music industry, discussed the D.A.S. system setup for Justin Bieber's performance.

"For this concert," explained Hardono, "we deployed 32 D.A.S. Audio Aero-38, three-way, medium-format line array elements. These enclosures were flown in four clusters-each with eight line array elements. We had the left and right front-of-house mains, which were augmented by two additional clusters, one cluster each on the extreme sides, or outfills. Due to the specific characteristics of this venue, we used outfield speakers to provide greater horizontal coverage to the width of the venue. This arrangement enabled us to accommodate the right/left outer wings of the audience."

For the left and right side fills, as well as the center fill, the DSS crew also flew a total of 18 D.A.S. Aero 12A powered, mid-high line array elements. These loudspeakers were arranged in three clusters of six elements each. For loudspeaker processing, two D.A.S. Audio DSP-4080 four in/eight out processors and one D.A.S. Audio DSP-2060 two in/four out processor were placed into service.

"We had plenty of low frequency support for this event as well as an impressive stage monitor setup," Hardono reports. "We used a total of 18 D.A.S. LX-218A powered subwoofers. These were ground-stacked with 9 enclosures on the left and another 9 units on the right. For on-stage monitoring, we placed 12 D.A.S. Avant 12A powered, two-way enclosures. Completing the monitoring setup, we used two additional LX218A subwoofers for sidefills, with one enclosure per side."

With a total of seven line array clusters -- the four eight-element Aero 38 hangs plus the three six-element Aero 12A clusters -- there was a plenty of sound. This arrangement was a new experience for Bieber's front-of-house engineer Gordon Mack, who exclaimed after a walk-around, "We're all ready to rock baby."

When the concert was over, customers, crew members, and others were all very impressed with the sound systems' performance. "We've received numerous compliments," Hardono said. "We've received compliments from everyone. The system performed perfectly and the result was one very satisfying concert."