James Oliver says the reason he joined PK Sound is because “it is the last audio company that is developing line array technology that is pushing the limits. Others seem to be just building off existing infrastructure.” As Oliver approaches his two-year anniversary with the company, having taken the chief strategy officer position after seven years as director of marketing and sales at Adamson, he and the PK team are overseeing tremendous transformation.
As Oliver surveys the live events market, he sees a malaise in the sense that product development in the line array vertical is largely relying on digital optimization and add-ons to keep existing offerings relevant. For him, that’s a limiting zero-sum game. “You just can’t give to one frequency without taking from another,” he points out. “PK uses mechanical design via integrated robotics to get to that next level of uniform coverage which happens before you introduce any digital optimization.”
Changes
PK’s rebranding includes a new logo and redesigned website. The latter clears up any confusion about what PK stands for, which has been publicly revealed as Polar Kinetic — the radial directivity of a loudspeaker resulting from motion. That ethos embodies the Trinity robotic line source series, as well as PK’s upcoming system offerings, which focus on variable, multi-axis directivity and feature integrated power electronics, network endpoints, DSP, inclinometers, and robotic actuators. Oliver believes all of this and other changes at the company are necessary to establish PK as a global brand. “We are all dying to get back to touring and events, and we are going back no question, but we will go back differently,” he says. “If you try to be reactive, it’ll be too late.”
“When times are tough, you invest in your company, in your people, and in technology for the future,” says CEO and founding partner Jeremy Bridge. “We hired more people, we grew our facility, and we invested in new software solutions that would expand the capabilities of our robotic systems. It is times like these and the actions companies take in response that define them.”
Robotic Optimization
Initially launched in 2015, the Trinity series has been fitted with robotics, which enable variable, real-time control of the sound field even after the array is flown. The angles between each line source can be set with 0.1 degrees of resolution in real time. “There is an obvious advantage if you’re not limited by the pre-determined pin hole,” Oliver says. The flexibility of movement for vertical play is there, but “it gets more interesting when you can also control the horizontal. You can have up to 25 specific horizontal angles at your control on each module, allowing for symmetric, asymmetric, or even tapered dispersion.”
The loudspeaker is connected to a vertically adjacent cabinet by a pair of robotic levers on either side to set precise angles between modules in an array. Each loudspeaker also comprises the patented Coherent Midrange Integrator (CMI) Waveguide with integrated robotic actuators to offer real-time control of horizontal coverage, “so you have precise control of directivity while adhering to best practices in acoustic design.”
Oliver points out the glut of great-sounding conventional line source solutions on the market but feels that this technology is truly revolutionary. “Everyone thought of this idea when they were 16, and now can’t believe that PK pulled it off,” he says smiling. “And you know who wants to try it? Everyone. Think of all the times you’ve flown an array and have been forced to live with the outcome. Because of our real-time flexibility of dispersion, we’ve not talked to one engineer who doesn’t want to come hear these and try it out.”
Expanding Their Reach
While the team was proud of Trinity, in retrospect, they now realize it fell short of its potential. The message wasn’t clear, and misconceptions were allowed by too many that it was “only” for EDM. While PK’s command of the bottom frequencies made Trinity a natural fit for the EDM market, the goal now is to share its advantages with a wider user base. “The first time I heard the P.A., I knew that it could outperform everything I’d heard on the market, regardless of the application,” Oliver says. “It offers the cleanest high-frequency reproduction I’ve heard in my life.”
So while innovators in EDM seemed to be the first adopters, whatever artist uses it allows their audience to have the same quality experience. One engineer who got it was James “Pugsley” McDermott, who has taken it out with country star Dierks Bentley on every major tour since the artist’s Mountain High tour in 2018. “Every Trinity box can be whatever you want it to be,” McDermott said, during his first shows with the PK Sound technology. “Each box can be set from anywhere between 50 and 120 degrees, and you can use them symmetrically or asymmetrically.”
McDermott added that, on one particular show, “I was having problems with a side-hang blowing into a video wall to the side of the audience, and all I had to do was just close up the boxes that were pointed at it, which solved the issue. That’s where the Trinity really shines, because you have the ability to take the room out of the equation.”
Other changes to the system range from the small (the horns used to be gray and now they are black), to the large (completely overhauled system packaging). One new PK Cell touring rack can power 96 Trinity Black speakers, whereas 14 to 16 amp racks would be needed on a competitive system. Currently in alpha is a software suite that will take the place of five separate programs, offering simulation (system design); robotic and digital optimization; tuning and EQ; system monitoring; and diagnostics and maintenance, all in one package. More changes are in motion and coming too, including educational programs and expanded service and warranty offerings. The company also moved into a much larger, 50,000-square-foot manufacturing facility during the pandemic.
New Users, New Business Model
There will be no going home again in terms of the pre-pandemic business model, Oliver says. “The ongoing consolidation of companies in the live events market has drastically altered the landscape. This among other things is influencing the total cost of ownership for large-format systems. There will be a rebuilding, and the incoming generation tasked with leading our industry and investing in cutting-edge technologies will be significantly different; we’re sure of that.”
To meet this next generation, PK is taking a radical approach with a new business model that will be more equitable and collaborative between them and production companies. The company’s big step forward started with a step back of sorts: They bought back existing Trinity systems on the market, and they did it in the middle of a pandemic. “We’re no longer making the large-format Trinity modules for sale,” Oliver says, referencing the incoming Trinity Black series that will be exclusively owned by the manufacturer; only a select few customers will gain access to Trinity Black with an investment in a medium-format T10 robotic system until the full program goes public in 2023.
Currently, there are two hubs in the U.S. that house these systems and can deliver them to other production houses when needed. So the T10 system is perfect for the mid-sized events that serve as the meat-and-potatoes for the typical production house, but is the ticket to also being able to compete for those really big events. This model is already working in Europe, with Trinity and T10 systems currently available via PK Alliance Europe in Belgium and several more international hubs are expected to come online throughout 2022.
“We all got into this industry for one reason: to reproduce an artist’s vision using the best technology available,” Oliver says. “PK’s future is based on a more equitable recurring revenue model, so users aren’t forced into accepting terms dictated by the manufacturer.” Instead, they get access to the “best technology in the world to fulfill their ambition and focus their investments on keeping their business healthy and ready for the industry’s resurgence.”
The next generation of engineers will be different, wanting to touch a screen and make something move, and PK is ready. “Touchscreen, easier to fly, integrated robotics — it’s going to make everything else look outdated.”
PK Sound Trinity Black
- Configuration: Four-way line array
- LF: (2) 12” neodymium woofers
- MF: (4) 6.5” cone drivers on Coherent Midrange Integrator
- HF & VHF: (2) 4” dual-diaphragm on planar waveguide
- Frequency Response: 40 Hz to 20k Hz
- Horizontal Dispersion: Variable, 50° to 120° symmetric & asymmetric
- Size: 14 x 54.9 x 23” (HxWxD)
- Weight: 259 pounds
- Power: 4 channel/6,000W total
- Notes: Robotic remote controllable dispersion, onboard DSP
- Companion Sub: T218 4,000W dual-18
- More Info: www.pksound.ca
