Boston, MA (September 14, 2026)—No first visit to Beantown is complete without exploring the many sites related to the Revolutionary War—and one of the most popular is the Old South Meeting House. Greeting visitors and taking them back centuries to that historic era is Ruckus!, an experiential exhibit that uses dynamic multichannel experiential sound, lighting, and projected animations to put you in the middle of the action.
Created by Revolutionary Spaces, Ruckus! uses the architecture of Old South Meeting House as part of the storytelling. Projected animations bring revolutionaries, determined citizens, and unlikely troublemakers into the story, while recorded voices, sound effects, and music bring the narrative to life.
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While the visual elements are dazzling, the audio system helps keep things coherent and clear. Tackling the audio aspects of the presentation, Electrosonic worked with 1 Sound to develop a system that would be low-profile but still deliver power and excitement throughout the seated audience area. Above all, it was crucial that the system provide wide coverage and sufficient throw while preserving the visual character of the Old South Meeting House.
With that in mind, Electrosonic opted for 1 Sound Tower cardioid line array columns; a combination of mains, delays and fills helps create consistent coverage and a sense of presence throughout the seating areas.
The main system uses Tower LCC84 loudspeakers, with Tower LCC44 loudspeakers providing side fills. Elsewhere, flush-mounted Level L35 loudspeakers are used for surround fills throughout the room and toward the back, and C4 loudspeakers provide additional coverage for the balcony. Bolstering the system, SUB28 subwoofers are positioned at the front left and right of the space.
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The distributed multichannel design approach maintains consistency from the main floor through the surrounding seating areas and balconies, supporting the experience wherever visitors are positioned.
“Solving sound for a space like ours—a space that needs to maintain its architectural and historical integrity, and that is not designed for modern sound—is a tall order,” said Matthew Wilding, senior director of Interpretation & Future Projects for Revolutionary Spaces. “1 Sound worked with us to craft a state-of-the-art, multi-channel system that sounds absolutely incredible and is practically invisible. With our old system, there were parts of the building where you’d struggle to hear someone speaking clearly because of the reverberation. Now, every seat is a good seat, whether it’s for our new immersive show, a forum, a theater production, or a concert. 1 Sound completely transformed the audio experience in our historic site.”
