Tom Marshall – Crazy for “KV2”

One of these Designers reaping the rewards of KV2’s True Point Source approach to loudspeaker design is UK based Tom Marshall.

First exposed to KV2 in 2014, Tom has been specifying KV2 products with increasing regularity and currently has no fewer than 5 UK-wide touring productions out with KV2 – An Officer & A Gentleman, Jungle Book, Sunset Boulevard, Crazy For You and Flashdance.

These are in addition to numerous other shows at Leicester’s Curve, Panto’s in Richmond and Glasgow and the recurring UK Winter Tour of Nativity! The Musical 2017-2020.

“I was introduced to KV2 along with Richard Brooker by Ross Portway and after experiencing the active EX10 and EX12 boxes on a few shows I decided to start specifying them on my own productions.” Tom explains.

“There are many loudspeakers that I like and for me it comes down to using the right tools for the job, as well as what budget will allow. When listening in comparison to other manufacturers of similar specification I was very pleasantly surprised at the KV2 range.”

Continuing to describe his experiences with KV2 Tom discusses the products performance further.

“The beauty of KV2 is that all the products deliver a great transparent sound with more than sufficient power for boxes of their size. That plus the fact that they are very reasonably priced make KV2 a perfect choice for nearly all applications. The HF dispersion is always very wide and as standalone boxes they deliver much more than you expect them to, something very useful in Theatre.

“I love that they are very full range boxes and I find this extremely useful when trying to give consistent and coherent sound in Theatres and unusual venues. The feedback rejection is great, which again is a big plus for head worn microphones on performers.”

Tom’s current UK touring productions all move on a weekly basis so speed and ease of set-up is vital and KV2’s Active EX and Active-Driven ESR True Point Source products were the sensible solution for Tom.

“For the ‘quieter’ shows I tend to use a combination of EX10’s and EX12’s as I feel they give a lovely full-range sound for light reinforcement as well as a nice crisp vocal. For the larger ‘Pop’ style musicals I have the EX15’s as a go to box for it’s quality, especially at higher SPL’s and more recently I have been using the ESR2.15’s as a proscenium speaker because of it’s extremely wide 110 degree HF dispersion. It is perfect for a stalls speaker where it reaches far in to the middle section of seating areas.”

Tom’s first KV2 show took place at Leicester’s Curve Theatre, where he regularly works.

“The first show I spec’d with KV2 used the SL4.12 (previously used by Richard Brooker on Bend it like Beckham in the West End, and the up-coming Sunshine on Leith production at West Yorkshire Playhouse) for a show at Leicester’s Curve Theatre. The Curve has a very wide proscenium which is perfect for the SL4.12 and I have used them ever since for the Theatre’s own productions.

“Sharing the same mid-high horn section it is no surprise that I also use the ESR2.15 system in venues with more traditional narrow prosceniums whilst still getting the same HF coverage.”

KV2 Audio’s UK Managing Director Jonathan Reece adds “It is a real privilege for us having Sound Designers like Tom specifying KV2 products a sharing the same passion for pushing boundaries and creating the next level in Theatre sound.

“He has a very good understanding of the product range relative to his own specific requirement and to hear first hand the great results he has achieved with KV2 products encourages us enormously as a manufacturer. We truly look forward to collaborating on future projects together.”

See below a list of Tom’s KV2 shows to-date with a selection of specific gear specifications also:

• Legally Blond, Curve, Leicester 2016
• Tell Me On a Sunday, UK Tour 2016
• Working, Southwark Playhouse 2017
• Flashdance, UK Tour, ongoing
• Crazy For You, UK Tour, ongoing
• Sunset Boulevard, UK Tour, ongoing
• Nativity! The Musical, UK Tour 2017-2020
• Sleeping Beauty, Glasgow Kings Panto 2017
• Aladdin, Richmond Theatre Panto 2017
• Scrooge, Curve, Leicester 2017
• Jungle Book, UK Tour, ongoing 
• An Officer & a Gentleman, UK Tour, ongoing

An Officer & A Gentleman UK Tour 

• 4 x ESR215’s with ES3000 Amps for Stalls and Circle
• 2 x EX2.5 with 2 x ES2.6
• 2 x EX1.8
• 4 x EX15 for Upper Circle and Balcony’s in certain venues
• 3 x EX12 as centre fills
• 24 x ESD2’s as front fills and delays
• 2 x EX26’s as stalls in-fills 
• 4 x EX6 as side fills

Sunset Boulevard UK Tour

• 4 x ESR215’s with ES3000 Amps for Stalls and Circle
• 4 x EX2.5 with 2 x ES2.6
• 2 x EX15 for Upper Circle
• 2 x EX12 for Gallery Fills
• 3 x EX10 for Centre fills
• 16 x ESD2’s as front fills and delays
• 8 x ESD5 as additional delays
• 2 x EX26’s as stalls in-fills 
• 6 x EX6 as side fills

Crazy For You UK Tour

• 8 x EX12 for Proscenium
• 3 x EX10 for Centre Fills
• 6 x EX6 for Side Fills
• 2 x EX2.5
• 2 x EX2.2
• 16 x ESD5 for Front Fills and Delays

Flashdance UK Tour

• 6 x EX15 for Proscenium
• 2 x EX2.5 with 2 x ES2.6
• 2 x EX2.2
• 2 x EX12 for Gallery Fills
• 6 x ESD6 for Front Fills
• 8 x ESD25 for Delays
• 8 x EX6 for Stage Foldback

Nativity! UK winter tour 2017 – 2020

• 4 x ESR215’s with ESR3000 Amps for Stalls and Circle
• 2 x EX2.5 with 2 x ES2.6
• 2 x EX1.8
• 4 x EX15 for Upper Circle and Balcony’s in certain venues
• 3 x EX12 as centre fills
• 24 x ESD2’s as front fills and delays
• 2 x EX26’s as stalls in-fills 
• 4 x EX6 as side fills