Venues with poor weight loading on the rigging points
A compact array that flies on a lightweight point
High-end clarity for the band's signature sound
Fast transient attack a horn cannot match
Even coverage from stalls to balcony
One standard rig that scales to every room
Level 42 — The World Machine 40th anniversary tour, United Kingdom
Forty years of one album — every room, one sound.
Level 42 took The World Machine back on the road for the album's 40th anniversary, a UK run of 32 venues with rooms that change every night. The brief stayed fixed even as the buildings did not: the same setup, the same clarity, and the same experience in every seat. A compact rig had to fly on weak rigging points, carry the band's signature high-end definition, and reach the balconies as cleanly as the stalls.
Case Study
Cultural / Theater
Electro-Voice
Dynacord
Europe
Level 42 — The World Machine 40th anniversary tour, United Kingdom
Forty years of one album — every room, one sound.
Case Study
Cultural / Theater
Electro-Voice
Dynacord
Europe
Level 42 took The World Machine back on the road for the album's 40th anniversary, a UK run of 32 venues with rooms that change every night. The brief stayed fixed even as the buildings did not: the same setup, the same clarity, and the same experience in every seat. A compact rig had to fly on weak rigging points, carry the band's signature high-end definition, and reach the balconies as cleanly as the stalls.
- Venue
- Level 42 — The World Machine 40th anniversary tour
- Location
- United Kingdom (32-venue tour)
- Install partner
- Safe Hands Audio
- Product highlights
- Electro-Voice X-Line Advance X2, XLE181, X12-128, EVOLVE 90 · Dynacord TGX20 · SONICUE
The venue
One album, 32 rooms, one standard
Level 42 returned to The World Machine for the album's 40th anniversary, touring the UK across 32 venues. Each room brings its own size, its own acoustics, and its own rigging limits, yet the show has to land the same way every night.
Rental supplier Safe Hands Audio carried a single standard rig from date to date, scaling the hang to each room rather than redesigning it. The goal was consistency: the same sound and the same experience whether the seat sits in the stalls or up in the balcony.
“We've gone with a standard setup which we are using in each venue. We designed it to fit the points in the venue with either 12 or nine X2 loudspeaker elements per side with cardioid subs, and that's what you need for this kind of touring.”
Neal AllenSafe Hands Audio
The challenge
Fly compact, hold the high end, cover every venue
Touring venues rarely offer generous rigging, and many of these rooms have poor weight loading on the points. The system had to be light enough to hang safely on a weak point and still throw a full, defined sound.
Level 42's music lives in its high-end clarity and fast transient attack, the kind a horn-loaded box can blur. The PA had to keep that definition intact while scaling cleanly from a 9-box hang to a 12-box hang and still reaching the balcony.
The solution
A compact X-Line Advance rig, tuned room by room
The main hangs use Electro-Voice X-Line Advance X2 line array elements, 30 of the X2-212 across the tour, set at either 12 or nine boxes per side to suit each room. Cardioid X12-128 subs keep low-end energy off the stage, six XLE181 cabinets handle lip fills, and EVOLVE 90 column systems cover the balconies.
Dynacord TGX20 four-channel amplifiers, rated at 20 kW per unit, drive the system, with SONICUE Sound System Software handling setup and tuning. The X2 carries components engineered from the ground up at the Electro-Voice US headquarters, with the cabinets time aligned to each other for a coherent result.
- Electro-Voice X-Line Advance X2 line array (30 X2-212 elements)
- Electro-Voice X12-128 cardioid subwoofers
- Electro-Voice XLE181 cabinets for lip fills
- Electro-Voice EVOLVE 90 column systems for balcony fills
- Dynacord TGX20 four-channel amplifiers, 20 kW per unit
- SONICUE Sound System Software
“The X2 is an acoustically engineered box with all loudspeaker components engineered from the ground up in our US headquarters. We're not just coloring the sound and putting those drivers in a box. We're actually making the sound as good as possible and the cabinets as time aligned with each other as possible.”
Arthur AchardElectro-Voice
The result
Sounds just like the record, every night
The compact X2 array flies easily on the lightweight points these rooms allow, and the high-end clarity holds up where smaller systems fall short. The fast attack keeps vocals forward and defined, even from a large driver.
Coverage stays even from the main floor to the balconies, so every seat gets the same experience. The feedback reaching the band points the same way: the show sounds just like the record, which is exactly the goal.
A compact rig that flies on lightweight points
High-end clarity beyond smaller systems
Fast transient attack for forward vocals
Even coverage from stalls to balcony
The same experience in every seat
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For integrators & consultants
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For integrators & consultants
Start with a system design
Send your floor plan or project brief and get a tailored system recommendation, including key components, coverage guidance.
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