BlackOak Deploys Battery-Powered Audio at Theater on the Lake

BlackOak Technical Productions, the Chicago-based technical production arm of Kehoe Designs, recently partnered with Theater on the Lake to produce an outdoor viewing event of the Chicago Air & Water Show. BlackOak was tasked with transforming the expansive outdoor space into a high-end, premium event, where 30+ vendors and hundreds of attendees would be experiencing audio while airplanes flew artistically – and loudly - overhead. Wanting to provide a distributed audio experience but also recognizing the difficulty of deploying a conventional system at the location, BlackOak utilized Trulli’s wireless, battery powered Bass50 system to avoid traditional pain points. This system not only helped BlackOak place sound where guests needed it, but also reduced long cable runs, eliminating trip hazards and additional labor hours.

The Challenge

Due to the location and outdoor nature of the venue, there were a few distinct audio-related challenges BlackOak had to overcome.

The first challenge was power. There is no direct power source where the event was held. To power a conventional audio system, this typically requires bringing in two gas generators—a primary and a backup—to power the sound system. Subwoofers are notoriously power-hungry speakers, so in years past, subs were eliminated from the audio setup altogether to mitigate power usage at the tradeoff of not having full sound output.

The second was cabling, both for power and audio. In previous years, roughly 3,000 ft of cable was run to the speakers over the 104,000 sq. ft. area. This amount of cabling takes significant time to deploy and is also a trip hazard in such a densely attended event, requiring the use of cable ramps. Weather also significantly effects the use of cables. If it rains, as it did at this event, you not only have to keep the connection points out of puddles to avoid shorts, but cleaning the cables afterwards can take a single person up to two days to complete.

The Solution

What made the sound system at this year’s Theater on the Lake viewing event different was the use of wireless, battery-powered speakers utilizing the power of the Trulli Bass50 to provide evenly distributed, full sound throughout the event. Using professional battery-powered speakers allowed the team to avoid the use of gas generators, which also eliminated the need for over 1,400’ of long-run power cables. Over 1,600’ of long-run audio cable was also eliminated due to the audio system’s wireless connectivity—this provided a safer guest experience and cut down labor hours by nearly 65%.

The System

The audio system was comprised of an RF Venue-equipped FoH feeding wireless audio to 12 individual Portable Large satellite speaker stacks. A single Portable Large system consists of a Trulli Bass50, Universal Port, long speaker pole, top speaker, and an RF Venue receiver. To make this a true roll-in-roll-out system, each speaker stack was built on a single dolly, allowing a small crew to roll pre-configured stacks off the truck and directly into position. This efficiency in design and prep not only reduced deployment time and crew size, but also reduced the overall packed weight by 52% over previous years.

The Results

Balanced, full sound system that evenly dispersed audio throughout a large outdoor space without the need for power.

The Trulli design eliminated 3,100 ft of long-run audio and power cabling, site generators and cable-ramp deployment.

Packed weight was approximately 52% lower, with empty-case movements reduced from 42 to 2.

Easy-to-use system that took 2 crew members + driver an hour to deploy. Past years took 6 crew members + driver multiple hours without subwoofers. Total crew hours decreased roughly 64.6%.

We partnered with the Trulli team because they have the perfect product for the setup. We have a big open-air grassy field, and we wanted zero cables, battery-powered, true clear audio, and that’s exactly what they delivered.

Meredith O.

Business Development
BlackOak Technical Productions

If you’re an audio engineer, one great thing about Trulli is how easy it is to deploy. It’s a very modular system—light weight, compact. If you’re worried about complicated loadouts, you don’t have this problem with Trulli. DSP onboard—everything you need to deploy the system quickly and effectively. You don’t have to worry about power, you don’t have to worry about audio cables. You just get to your venue and you just go. It’s a fantastic system.

Vumile N.

Technical Producer
BlackOak Technical Productions