Boom 2006

Sound and Light Systems from Ales in France (30-Gard) supplied the system for the main stage at the Boom Festival (06) in Portugal. Looking to improve their sound this year festival organiser Diogo approached Funktion One. "The main stage at Boom is such a challenge that we had never managed to acheive the level of quality that we aimed for, the previous festival was particularly difficult for us due to some poor sound design which led to some areas having problems with delays and cancellations". This year it had to sound good everywhere.

The sound had to be of similar quality to the rest of the elements of the festival, from the infrastuctures and constructions to the line up and organisation which is amongst the best in the world.

Every time the festival is produced Diogo and his team try to push the boundaries and this year the focus was on minimising the environmental damage to the site caused by the 25000 guests. Notably all the constructions are built using renewable materials, mainly bamboo, these are all devised by a renowned Bio-Architect Amir Rabik. Among the many constructions this year are the main dancefloor canopy (70m wide and 30m high), a conference hall, a bridge and the chill out area. The festival sorts all the rubbish for recycling and maximises the use a of bio-sanitation.

The main stage caters for a crowd from an average 6,000 people to busy periods of up to 15,000. To keep the crowds cool in the heat the giant canopy is equipped with a mist sprinkling system.

The operating conditions are among the toughest imaginable, the stage operates for a minimum of 20 hours a day and the program material encompasses non stop bass heavy dance music of a style renowned for it's lack of breakdowns. The temperature during the day is anywhere between the high thirties and mid-forties in the shade and the air entering the amps for "cooling" is somewhat hotter.

This could be considered as being the ultimate test for the first outing of the new A6 amplifiers driving the self-powered F218A bass enclosures. The amps passed the test without fault and giving probably the best sound ever to the F218s with new levels of power and control.

Two hundred metres up the hill from the stage the sound was extraordinary, tight fat bass lines accompanied by beautiful mid-highs, despite having to shoot through the canvas canopy. The sound in front of the stacks is the same as at the end of the canopy and it's perfectly comfortable to dance in front of the stacks despite the immense power of the bass.

Compliments came regularly from the public such as "Finally Boom has found its sound" or "Amazing, I've never heard basslines track that well, I'm discovering new details in the music".

It was generally understood that the Funktion One system this year offered Boom exceptional and consistent quality throughout despite the extreme conditions.