L-Acoustics Hits PLAY with Katy Perry’s New Las Vegas Residency

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 29: Katy Perry performs onstage during Katy Perry: PLAY Las Vegas Residency at Resorts World Las Vegas on December 29, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images for Katy Perry)

With an economy built upon its entertainment and tourism industry, Sin City, as Las Vegas is affectionately known, is sequestered amongst the blazing sands of the Nevada desert. A hotbed of virtually every type of glitzy, glamorous, or ostentatious attraction, its city strip contains some of the most grandiose and luxurious hotels the United States has to offer.

With so many high-stakes entertainment experiences and top-performing acts, any new hotel needs to stay ahead of the curve in terms of state-of-the-art hospitality and venue offerings. The brand-new Resorts World hotel-mall-casino does just that. As the first integrated resort built on the Las Vegas Strip in over a decade, Resorts World Las Vegas blends the innovative technology and luxury appeal of a contemporary urban resort with the traditions and time-honored details of the international Resorts World brand. Not only that, it’s the first hotel to be adorned with premium L-Acoustics sound systems in multiple entertainment spaces, effectively naming it the most high-tech in sound.

The most impressive of those spaces is the brand-new 5,000-capacity, multi-level Resorts World Theatre, or simply The Theatre, designed by the award-winning international design firm, Scéno Plus, and programmed and operated by AEG Presents. The intimate venue, with the furthest seat only 150 feet from the stage, features unparalleled comfort, unobstructed sightlines, and an unmatched immersive audio experience through more than 250 L-Acoustics speakers powered by L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal technology.

It’s also the perfect venue to host the effervescent and colorful artist Katy Perry in her new Las Vegas Residency, PLAY. An enchanting and transportive spectacle, PLAY depicts Katy Perry as a doll in a wonderland of oversized toys, bathroom items, magic mushrooms (it’s Vegas, after all), and—yes—even trash.

With such an over-the-top display of colors, props, dancers, interactive costumes, and set designs, the sound needed to be just as bright, clear, and immersive—especially allowing for Katy Perry’s vocals to shine through. And shine she did: “Perry’s voice has never sounded better, thanks in part to the incredible L-Acoustics sound system installed in the Resorts World Theatre,” says Marah Eaken of Grammy.com.

“Smaller background players like Katy’s band, or the actual harmonies from her backup singers, come through right in tune with her main vocals; there’s less full-tilt loud sound and more nuanced, focused moments with greater modulation between the high and low moments,” says Caitlin White of UPROXX.

But the praise of the Resorts World Theatre’s sound and Katy Perry’s PLAY doesn’t end there.

Joe Siyam of LAMag.com notes in his top seven things to see in Vegas: “Show goers have been talking about not only the incredible visuals and costumes but also the crystal-clear sound in the theater, which is operated in partnership with AEG Presents. Performed in immersive sound, courtesy of L-Acoustics’ L-ISA technology, attending shows inside the theater is a new way to experience sound in ultra-high-resolution spatial audio.

Nate Rynaski of Flaunt.com comments: “The L-ISA sound system not only offers an envelopment of sound but ensures that you experience the same quality from corner to corner of the theater, ensuring every member of the audience can experience the full spectacle of Play.

The Theatre’s immersive system consists of an L-ISA Scene setup of seven arrays of 14 K2 enclosures flown across the stage width, left-right out-fill arrays of 12 Kara, plus two center-flown arrays of eight KS28 subs each. Twenty-four KS21 subs are located under the stage, and 16 5XT five-inch coaxials are positioned across the stage lip, functioning as spatial front-fills thanks to a new L-ISA algorithm. A myriad of A10i Wide enclosures provide delay and seven channels of surround for each of the three balconies, with additional A10i found in the lighting booth. A combination of LA12X, LA4X, and LA2Xi amplified controllers drive the system, which also uses the new L-ISA Processor II—the device’s first permanent install. Plus, there are 11 P1 processors installed that enable bridging of AVB, AES/EBU, and analog audio with time-aligned redundant signal distribution.

Katy Perry’s new residency is certainly a show not to be missed, especially with its L-ISA setup. For residency dates and to buy tickets, check out Resorts World online here.