Casino Rama Resort venue upgrades to L-Acoustics K2 Concert Sound System

Ontario’s 5,000-seat resort venue, the Casino Rama Entertainment Centre (CREC), has installed a new L-Acoustics K2 system ahead of its 25th anniversary this June.

The CREC is located within the Casino Rama Resort. Over nearly three decades, it has welcomed a wide range of talent, including rock legends like Kiss, Alice Cooper, and Deep Purple; pop icons including Dolly Parton, Diana Ross, and Lionel Richie; comedians, Celtic ensembles, boxing cards, and symphony orchestras.

The new L-Acoustics K2 system, supplied by Solotech, is replacing a nearly 25-year-old V-DOSC rig. “The old system was an incredible slugger,” said Rob Howick, venue operations assistant manager. “V-DOSC went out the door with absolutely nothing wrong with it after all that time. We brought it in once a year just to rotate cabinets. As a legacy product, it was simply time for an upgrade.”

“We were very fortunate not to require any manufacturer support throughout the lifetime of the system,” added Perry Disera, A1 at CREC and the engineer who spearheaded the design and installation. “V-DOSC handled everything we and incoming tour engineers put into it, withstanding the pounding of heavy metal acts while still sounding natural and sweet with symphonic performances. It was a remarkably worthwhile investment, all the way to the end.”

Staying within the L-Acoustics ecosystem smoothed the transition. “I have a lot of deep respect for L-Acoustics products,” said Disera. “We’d had a long and amazing run with V-DOSC, and everybody was happy with it, so transitioning to K2 was a no-brainer.”

The team structured the project to keep the venue operating throughout. “We split the project up to spread the capital purchasing,” explained Disera. “Phase one covered amplification, cabling, and background infrastructure—initially powering the then-current V-DOSC and dV-DOSC speakers. In phase two, we brought in more amplification to support all the new K2 enclosures, added another complement of subs per side, and completed all the cabling.”

The complete system now features left and right main arrays of 16 K2 on each side, with six additional K2 per side addressing the outer seating areas of the main floor. A pair of Kara II handle fill coverage for the front-centre section. The LF system is anchored by 12 KS28 subwoofers per side, flown in a cardioid configuration and positioned within 11 feet of the five-foot stage to maximise impact and for low-frequency control. Six LA-RAK II AVB touring racks, each loaded with three LA12X amplified controllers and two LS10 Milan-AVB switches, were added to the Entertainment Centre’s existing 10 LA-RAK II to round out the infrastructure.

“Touring engineers are consistently happy with how this system performs sonically, and there’s very little they need to do to make their shows sound great,” said Disera. “I feel we now have what is probably one of the best rigs for a theatre of this size in Canada, if not in North America.”

“The vocal clarity is night and day – the crispness, the overall texture of the high end,” added Howick. “Our room has always been excellent for sound, but there were some coverage gaps in the outer seating areas that the K2 outfills have completely resolved. The consistency from the first row to the very back row is really stunning.”

Disera was grateful to the team that made it happen: audio specialists Ryan Smith and Mike Brandon. “They’ve been instrumental in the installation and operation since we started putting the system in. We all have a hand in what’s going on with the PA and monitoring systems onstage, and we’re all genuinely thrilled with L-Acoustics. With our previous system delivering almost 25 years of incredible service, we’re confident this new one will do us right for at least 25 more.”