Founded in 2004, Digital Console Rental Inc. was rebranded in 2017 as DCR Nashville to reflect the company’s evolution from a source for high-end digital audio consoles to the AVL solutions provider it is today. DCR Nashville now supports more than two-dozen touring artists and continues to grow its inventory with the industry’s most rider-friendly products, including the company’s significant recent investment in L-Acoustics K2, Kara, and Kiva II loudspeaker systems.
The new Certified Provider’s initial investment into L-Acoustics is substantial: 32 K2, 24 Kara, and 32 Kiva II line source array enclosures, 16 KS28, eight K1-SB, and six SB15m subs, and a dozen coaxial X15 HiQ stage wedges, further rounded out by nine LA-RAK II touring racks and a pair of the manufacturer’s brand new P1 processors.
“The addition of L-Acoustics to our inventory offering will provide us with increased opportunities, not only in support of our existing clients, but it will also introduce our company to a broader client base,” says DCR Nashville owner Howard Jones. “L-Acoustics is a very popular choice with today’s top touring artists, and with its loudspeakers representing a perfect blend of fidelity, coverage, and optimal size-to-weight ratio, we can easily see why. L-Acoustics is the right loudspeaker manufacturer for us to partner with to strengthen the DCR Nashville brand moving forward.”
Upon taking delivery of the new systems, L-Acoustics Touring Application Engineer Vic Wagner spent four days at DCR Nashville bringing the company up to speed on its new gear.
“Vic trained our team on all system aspects from design using Soundvision to the use of LA Network Manager to optimal deployment of K2, Kara and Kiva II,” notes DCR Nashville general manager John Schirmer. “When he left, most of our crew had become Certified System Technicians. Vic was great to spend time with, extremely patient, and tremendously knowledgeable.”
Between numerous festival dates in the spring, as well as supporting its existing touring clients, DCR Nashville’s new loudspeaker systems are quickly being spoken for. In addition, the company is actively servicing the L-Acoustics cross-rental network with its inventory, including its coaxial X15 HiQ monitor wedges.
“To date, we have deployed the X15 with touring clients and on our corporate events quite extensively,” Schirmer says. “They have immediately begun working for us, and our clients absolutely love them. Clients are impressed with the tonal quality and high SPL capabilities of the wedges, as well as how compact and light they are compared to other products in the industry. We also just deployed them on a 500-person corporate event as a distributed speaker option and the results were spectacular, landing us a long-term corporate client. The X15 HiQ are game changers for us. They are so versatile, working as stage monitors one week and as small PA systems the next, greatly expanding the versatility of our inventory.”
As a very intentional part of its loudspeaker upgrade, DCR Nashville is offering AVB system deployment upon request, hence the new addition of two L-Acoustics P1 units. “P1 has the ability to provide for us a variety of versatile and useful system functions as well as distribution protocols,” Schirmer continues. “We are using the P1 on the front end of our PAs to offer our systems techs a deeper processing level to the system by incorporating the EQ station along with LA Network Manager. Whether a client wants AES, Analog or AVB, we have them covered and can deploy a system that best meets their needs.”
When not deployed with one of DCR Nashville’s own clients, the new L-Acoustics systems will be hot commodities on the manufacturer’s rental network. “We’re very excited to be a part of the Certified Provider network and larger L-Acoustics family, and we look forward to sharing our inventory with our partners for years to come,” says Jones. “We make a commitment to having the best product offerings in the industry, and L-Acoustics now allows us the opportunity to provide the best in PA solutions.”
“DCR has been an indispensable staple in Nashville, as a support for cross-rental and touring, and we are pleased to welcome them to our growing roster of KX Standard-class Certified Providers for the touring and corporate rental markets,” adds L-Acoustics regional sales manager B.J. Shaver.
Looking Back on 2025: A Year of Controlled Chaos (Emphasis on “Controlled”)