ACME LIGHTING LYRA

Darren Russell is the owner and Managing Director of Canberra’s Elite Event Technology, one of the foremost production companies on Australia’s East coast. Elite supply venues, large scale touring, and events, with a comprehensive and top-shelf inventory of hire stock.

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Elite Event Technology were somewhat involved with the development of the feature set of the ACME LYRA. We had a chance to test a few of their new hybrid fixtures in the XA range. We liked them, but we did suggest that it would be good if there was a fixture which would offer framing as well as animation wheel.

About six months later, ULA Group sent out a road case with a prototype based on our recommendations, for us to play with. It was a good light, however at that time we were going through a phase needing IP rated fixtures, and we suggested that an IP rated fixture could be the way to go. They took our suggestion on board and few months later, the LYRA was released. After we put it through our paces testing it, we ordered 24. We got 12 in November last year, 12 more a month later in December.

They were used recently at Parliament House on a job called Top Secret, an event promoting Canberra as a destination for event planners, where the quality of the framing shutters was put to the test. We did a dinner in the Great Hall for 50-60 people. We had to light two long tables and keep colour in the room. Using LYRAs, we were able to shutter in and light the tables in open white.

Why the ACME Lyra?

We were looking for a workhorse light for gigs where an IP rated fixture may be needed. We own large numbers of IP rated wash lights, but we did not have an IP rated spot in our inventory. We needed fixtures that can do gobo projection and beam effects outdoors. We tried to find the ultimate all-in-one package, and this is it. We have it out on spec jobs and it has been looked upon favourably by everyone who has given it a go. It’s a really good workhorse.

We have owned a lot of ACME Lighting gear in the past, like LED pars and blinders. They have been reliable for us for a long time. Some of the innovation they have been coming up with lately is next level.

Features

The features offered on the LYRA are fantastic. It’s got all of the features in the fixture that suggest it should cost a lot more money. The animation wheel is really good. It has a few different levels of animation; it’s a real feature. Movement is smooth, precise, and accurate, all the way through the range for both pan and tilt. The frost is nice and doesn’t lose too much intensity when it is dropped in. The framing shutters are much better than the prototype. CTO and colours are great. The gobos are also really good and they are all really useable. I don’t think there is a feature we have not used. It does everything really well.

How does it stack up?

We got the LYRA and put it next to an industry leading light with most of the same features and similar spec. The LYRA pretty much chewed it up and spat it out. Although it doesn’t show it on paper, it is substantially brighter when you see it with the human eye. It’s IP66, which not only makes it useable outdoors, but it makes it stronger and will reduce maintenance costs. It’s much quieter than you would expect too, for a light this size.

Outdoors

The LYRA performs really well outdoors. We used the lights recently at Rochford Estate, SummerSalt, and Live in the Vines. We used them as profile spots because of the framing. We had set these up and left them in the rain for over 2 weeks, so the IP rating has been well and truly tested.

Stamp of approval from the industry

The LYRA has been getting rave reviews. We have had overseas touring LDs as well as many of Australia’s top LDs use these lights and they have been impressed by how bright they are. All who have been willing to give it a go have been receptive and positive. They are that feature packed it’s getting called the “Swiss Army Knife Plus.”

Setting up and setting down

It’s a bit heavier because of the IP rating, but the LYRA is built like a tank. It weighs in at 40kg and is nearly 72cm long, making it one of the bigger moving lights on the market. They come in single cases, with a front door opening on the case and pan and tilt locking mechanism. It is a two person lift, and the case is well designed.

Consoles and compatibilities

The LYRAs play well with all the consoles we own. When we first got them, ChamSys already had a library file. Hog did, but we got them to build us a new one. The MA had one in the MA2 and the MA3 libraries which had been created by end users. The MA2 one was pretty good, the MA3 one had a few bugs and glitches. We went back to ULA Group who through ACME provided a new version of the head file for the MA2 and MA3. The LYRA has five different control modes, and we usually run them in extended mode.

The Verdict

It’s a really good workhorse light that does everything really well. In my opinion, the ACME LYRA is probably the best thing ACME Lighting has made so far. Bang for your buck is pretty insane.

Product Info: en.acme.com.cn

Distributor Australia and New Zealand: www.ulagroup.com

THE SPECS

• Light Source: 1,000W 8,000K White LED Engine
• Colour Temperature Output: 6,500K
• Total Lumen Output (Ra>70): 35,000lm
• HCRI Mode Output (Ra>90): 25,600lm
• Rated Source Life: up to 20,000 hours
• Beam angle: 6°-50°
• Diameter of Front Lens: 160mm 4-Button touch panel
• Display: LCD display Protocols: DMX512, RDM DMX Protocol modes: 5:
• Control channels: 40/39/30/31/22 Pan movement: 540°
• Tilt movement: 270° CMY Colour Mixing
• Linear CTO Colour Correction: 2,700K-6,700K
• 1 x Colour Wheel: 5 complementary colours plus open
• CRI Optimiser Filter
• 1 x Static Gobo Wheel: 9 gobos, plus open
• 1 x Rotating & Interchangable Gobo Wheel: 7 high-precision glass gobos, plus open
• A graphic animation effect wheel with continuous rotation in both directions
• 2 Combinable Rotating and Indexable Prisms: one 4-facet prism, one 4-facet linear prism
• 2 Variable Frost Filters: Light and Medium
• Shutter Blades: 4 Blades, each with separate movement and full blackout