WAAPA upgrades performance spaces with DiGiCo and L-Acoustics

The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), part of Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, has completed a major investment in its performance spaces, installing DiGiCo consoles, L-Acoustics loudspeakers, Fourier transform.engine processors and Klang.vokal systems. Equipment was supplied by Group Technologies, DiGiCo’s distributor for Australia and New Zealand.

With more than 300 public shows annually, WAAPA required flexible systems that could support professional productions while giving students experience with current industry technology.

Sound coordinator and lecturer Mike Vernau said the academy selected DiGiCo for its routing flexibility, console layouts and sonic clarity. The Sound House contemporary jazz venue has two Quantum326 consoles, while the Playhouse musical theatre venue has a Quantum338 and Quantum225. An SD12 serves the Flex Theatre, primarily used for training.

The consoles feature the manufacturer’s T software, supporting specialist theatre functions such as performer and alias tracking for complex sound designs and cast changes. Russell Proud, senior consultant at venue and technical design firm Charcoalblue, said the system uses Dante outputs and DQ-Racks to suit the building’s infrastructure, with connections to broadcast facilities for live film and audio recording.

The wider installation integrates immersive monitoring and audio processing. Two Klang.vokal units and 24 Klang.kontrollers will be integrated with the consoles, supporting orchestra mixes and performer-controlled immersive mixes for musical theatre, with in-ear monitoring also planned. Fourier transform.engines allow students to use VST3 audio plug-ins in live production environments.

Sam Jones, who works with the sound team on WAAPA’s Performance and Design course, said the Klang systems would support different monitoring applications, including mixes driven directly from the Quantum consoles.

Integration between DiGiCo, L-Acoustics, KLANG and Fourier allows productions, show files, virtual soundchecks and multitrack recordings to move between performance and rehearsal spaces. “DiGiCo acts as a nexus, integrating with products like Klang, Fourier and L-Acoustics effortlessly,” Vernau said. “Because WAAPA is known as a leading trainer in Sound for Theatre, it made perfect sense to go with L-Acoustics and DiGiCo for our sound reinforcement needs. I've been teaching digital audio and live sound mixing for 12 years, and having a facility like this was a dream come true. There's nowhere in the world quite like WAAPA ECU CBD campus and we're really excited to see how our first group of students through the door use the facilities this year.”

We covered the ECU project in the Sep/Oct 2026 edition of Pro AVL Asia. Read part 1 of the feature here.