Canada's Wonderland Upgrades Historic Canterbury Theatre with d&b audiotechnik A-Series System

	"They wanted full coverage at every seat. They wanted crystal clear voice intelligibility. And they wanted every performance to deliver an impact. That's where d&b audiotechnik came in," says Woods. Photo: courtesy Canada's Wonderland

Canada's Wonderland, one of the largest theme parks in North America, has completely modernized the audio experience at its 1,200-seat Canterbury Theatre, deploying a d&b audiotechnik sound system that combined A-Series Augmented Arrays and B22-SUB Subwoofers. The new installation, completed by Apex Sound & Light, replaces a three-decades-old legacy system, and now provides impactful audio reproduction and greater intelligibility for the venue's diverse programming, which includes the popular Cirque Ambiente performance.

Apex Sound & Light, a leader in Canadian audio and lighting for over 30 years, was tapped for the project due to their deep expertise and long-standing relationship with the park. "We have strong relationships with the design and AV teams at Canada's Wonderland, built over years of collaboration," comments Elizabeth Woods, sales manager for Apex Sound & Light. "So, it was natural for Apex to work with them on the Canterbury upgrade."

Canterbury Theatre, a soft-seat, sloped-floor proscenium theatre located in the Medieval Faire section of the park, operates like a roadhouse, hosting Cirque-style shows primarily during the summer, as well as performances for Halloween Haunt and Christmas events.

The park's objectives for the upgrade were clear: "They not only wanted to get their audio system into the 21st century, but they wanted it to sound amazing," Woods recalls. "They wanted full coverage at every seat. They wanted crystal clear voice intelligibility. And they wanted every performance to deliver an impact. That's where d&b audiotechnik came in."

"We also wanted something we could turn on and have it work consistently. A system that summer interns could run without needing to play around with settings," emphasizes Peter Howell, area manager - technical services for Canada's Wonderland. "And integrating the new system with the park's existing infrastructure was key. d&b was a nice fit because it was tailored towards the Canterbury entertainment venue but still integrates nicely into the Q-SYS ecosystem that we use throughout the park."

Apex chose the d&b A-Series Augmented Array system to match the venue size and architectural constraints, and to solve its coverage challenges. "A-Series was ideal. It sits in this hybrid space, where it can work like a point source, but give you the surgical acoustic control of a line array," says Woods.

"With the design worked up in ArrayCalc, we knew exactly where to hang the boxes and at what angles to focus the sound where we wanted it, on the audience," shares Woods. "Those designs paired with d&b's efficient rigging hardware meant the install went fast, and the fact that the A-series are lightweight meant that there weren't serious structural concerns."

When asked about Apex's long-standing relationship with d&b audiotechnik, Woods also revealed her personal connection to the brand. "Graham, the owner of Apex was the original importer of d&b into Canada. About 15-20 years ago, I heard d&b speakers for the first time and I was blown away. That is what made me want to work for the company, I love the sound of these speakers so much."

The results of the upgrade have exceeded Canda's Wonderland's expectations. "Internally, performers, directors, producers on the shows, everybody's feedback has been fantastic. They love it," says Howell. "I can walk in, play music, and feel it in my chest now. That is the type of theater I want."

The d&b audiotechnik system installed by Apex Sound and Light Canterbury Theatre included a main left and right hang, each containing four A-Series ALi90 Augmented Array loudspeakers. Complementing the arrays are two B22 subwoofers, one per side, ground-stacked because of needs to change configurations based on performance requirements. Front fills were addressed by four 44S point source loudspeakers, which were recessed into the stage itself. The entire system is efficiently powered by three 40D amplifiers.