Open Air Gampel in the middle of the alps is one of the biggest live music events in Switzerland. The four-day festival near Bern presented a popular lineup of top acts such as Sido, Mark Forster and Robin Schulz, attracting up to 30,000 attendees at the end of August. Since its foundation in 1986, local rental company FreepowerEventtechnik is in charge of the sound reinforcement for all stages of the festival. The team once again relied on a powerful combination of Electro-Voice X2 line-array loudspeakers powered by Dynacord TGX series amplifiers.
The main sound system for the White Stage saw a total of 30 X2 line-array elements plus 24 X12-128 subwoofers driven by four SR20-TGX system racks from Dynacord. The 10U TGX system rack is preconfigured with three TGX20 DSP amplifiers plus two independent network switches for glitch-free operation and offers a variety of professional features such as integrated sliding rack doors, customizable I/O options, and a reversible mounting for the power distribution. SONICUE Sound System Software handled quick and comprehensive configuration and control of the entire PA.
While Bluetooth is being developed as an assistive technology for those with hearing loss, the International Federation of Hard of Hearing People (IFHOH) has stressed that hearings loops, telecoils, RF and IR systems should continue to be used.
In a statement following its World Congress in Budapest last week, IFHOH highlighted that ‘Auracast’ is not yet available for people with hearing loss, and won’t be for some time. In the interim, it said telecoils should still be included in hearing aids and current assistive listening systems should still be installed “for the foreseeable future”.
It also recommended training for audiologists and other hearing health professionals in hearing loops, telecoils and other existing technologies to make sure people can enjoy the benefits of clear sound now.
“We welcome this statement from IFHOH. It echoes our viewpoint that hearing loops are, and continue to be, life-changing technology for people with hearing loss.”
Contacta’s Head of Business Development, Ran Meyrav,
“While Auracast will undoubtedly have much to offer, its abilities are still largely untested and it will take some time yet for it to be widely available, and in enough settings, to benefit the majority of people with hearing loss.
“Because hearing aids in the UK are issued, largely, by the NHS, replacements are not received for several years. Add to this to the significant investment people make in purchasing hearing aids privately, and the costs involved in purchasing new Auracast compatible hearing aids and smartphones, and you have several reasons why Bluetooth Auracast technology won’t be adopted for some time.
“Hearing loops may be ‘old’ technology but that is not the same as ‘outdated’ and we are glad that IFHOH has made this so clear.”
Suzhou Bay Cultural Center is located at the shore of Lake Tai in Suzhou of China, and adjacent to the Taihu New Town CBD. It is one of the signature development projects initiated by the city through the Wujiang Lakefront Masterplan. The 215,000 square-meter center consists of two wings, the Suzhou Opera House on the north side, and Wujiang Exhibition Center on the south.
The two magnificent buildings are connected by a long rooftop ribbon-like arch. This huge ribbon waves and intertwines from the north wing to the south, forming a giant figure eight. With patterns of rotating geometry, this architectural feature is visible from afar. The ribbon represents the silk and water sleeves of the Kunqu Opera, and evokes the cultural richness of the city. It also serves as a bridge for pedestrians to enjoy the spectacular view of Lake Tai and the heart of Suzhou CBD. Suzhou Bay Cultural Center has symbolized successful economic and cultural development, marking a milestone for the city.
The north wing features an Opera House, a black-box theatre hall, rehearsal rooms, art space, cinemas, and restaurants. The Opera House is an international opera theatre which has a 1600-seat capacity. Different from the neatly arranged auditoriums of a traditional theatre, this Opera House adopts an asymmetrical design. The seating area on the upper deck is designed like several small petals stacked on top of each other. The petal-like auditorium is a unique and poetic design that brings the audiences a natural immersive and enjoyable experience. The theatre hall serves as a multi-function black-box theatre which has a capacity of 600 seats. The stage setting and auditorium will be specially arranged based on the requirement of each performance.
ETC gear including consoles, luminaires, dimmers, and networking systems are installed in the Opera House and theatre hall. Two Gio consoles with 24K outputs are installed in the Opera House, and two Gio @5 consoles with 4K outputs are used to control the lighting of the theatre hall. The venue owner was impressed by the powerful magic sheet functionality which makes managing the fixture layout, and control and programming of buttons, faders, colors, and gobos, easier. The magic sheets also provide flexibility for the user to adjust the control to fit the needs of a variety of performances.
To enjoy world-class power and dimming control, ETC’s Sensor3 ThruPower Dimmer and Relay modules are installed in the venues. These modules popular in the theatrical industry as they are famous for their reliability and stability for smoothly controlling the intensity of all types of fixtures. Using the Sensor3 ThruPower module enables users to switch freely between constant circuits, on/off switching with true air-gap relays, and dimming of the lighting loads.
Luminaries from ETC have been recognized as the standard lighting fixtures in the industry and are widely used in theatres. This is the reason that Suzhou Bay Cultural Center selected Source Four LED Series 2 and ColorSource Spot fixture with CYC adapters as the stage lighting of the Opera House and theatre hall. The lighting designer found Source Four LED Series 2 favorable as it brings high brightness from a variety of positions while having a low power consumption, thanks to the LED light engine. The lighting designer was also amazed by the rich and smooth wash of color brought by ColorSource which can enhance the moods of every scene.
To have a reliable data distribution for all lighting technology in the venue, Response Mk2 DMX Gateways from ETC are installed to securely connect the sACN network to the DMX runs. They are also interoperable as it meets the industry-standard protocols such as ANSI E1.31 (sACN) and ANSI E1.20 (RDM) using standard Ethernet cabling and infrastructure. Response Mk2 DMX Gateways once again impressed the venue owner as they offer a powerful, fast, and stable data distribution by the use of ETC’s network technology.
ETC was honored to be selected to offer a comprehensive range of lighting technology to Suzhou Bay Cultural Center and be part of the city’s cultural and artistic development journey.
Photo credit: Suzhou Bay Cultural Center and Hangzhou YiDaShi Technology Development Co., Ltd.
Bielsko-Biała, Poland, July 2022 – An extensive public address system from Electro-Voice and Dynacord has been installed at Cavatina Hall. Located in the vibrant, historic city of Bielsko-Biała, amongst the Beskidy mountains in southern Poland, the six-story building counts over 9,000 square meters of top-tier office space, a cutting-edge recording studio, a chamber music room and a majestic 1,000 capacity concert hall. The venue itself is owned by leading Polish development company Cavatina and is the first privately owned and funded concert hall in Poland.
As a large, multi-use facility Cavatina Hall required an extensive solution to cover public address across its various areas. This needed to be flexible enough to meet the differing needs of office workers and theatregoers and led to Audio Plus, the company responsible for the coordination and co-designers of the solution, turning to the extensive Electro-Voice and Dynacord portfolio.
The heart of this solution is electronics from Dynacord, with an MXE5 Matrix Mix Engine alongside an IPX10:8 power amplifier. IPX multi-channel amplifiers are dedicated for fixed installations and offer sophisticated speaker processing. IPX also features Dynacord’s unique variable load drive (VLD) technology. For each channel, the user can determine whether Low-Z or High-Z 70V/100V loudspeakers are driven without the need for an output transformer via direct drive technology. The IPX10:8 was the perfect choice for this project due to its ability to harness this technology across eight channels.
“The IPX 10:8 is at the core of the sound system – we wanted something that was technically optimal in terms of control and this amp allows each channel to be individually operated, along with analog inputs from Dante and OCA via OMNEO network inputs – it’s a highly flexible solution for us,” explains Stanisław Mielczarek, Tech Support Engineer, Audio Plus. “MXE5 was chosen as it’s a universal processor that complements other systems in Cavatina Hall – through SONICUE Sound System Software. It integrates perfectly for this kind of project – allowing us to have full control of the entire system of signal routing and signal processing for public address speakers.” adds Tomasz Ibrom, Project and Installation Engineer, Audio Plus, who was responsible for the system integration at Cavatina Hall.
The Dynacord electronics are driving a large 100V Electro-Voice loudspeaker solution combining the strengths of the EVID ceiling and surface mount ranges. “EVID speakers offer a big spectrum of models in the series and were the ideal choice because of their mounting capabilities,” Ibrom explains. “Each piece is exactly fitted for its location.
”In the main auditorium, a pair of Electro-Voice FM6.2 speakers have been hidden behind the wooden sound panels either side of the stage. These are linked to the RTS intercom system and used for addressing the performers onstage. The stage manager or event director can use the system via an Electro-Voice wireless mic to communicate with the musicians during rehearsals. “This additional system works perfectly because the speech is super-intelligible and the speakers are completely invisible,” says Ibrtom. “The team at Cavatina Hall are really happy with it.”
Staying on stage, Electro-Voice microphones have also been selected to cover a wide range of vocal and instrumental needs. This includes everything from the RE97Tx micro-headworn condensers, to ND44, ND46 and ND66 instrument mics, as well as the iconic RE20 and RE320 Variable-D models.
The Hall now boasts superior efficiency in terms of connectivity, which fits in well to the innovative aesthetic of the multi-functional building. Marcin Smolik, Producer and Managing Director at Cavatina Hall concludes: “We are at the forefront of Europe among the few venues that have such a system. Our technology is a treat for artists and for the viewer, it means quality.”
The station has equipped its studios with AEQ Capitol IP console as the heart of the system
Adventist World Radio AWR is a private radio station in South Africa under the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division (SID) with offices in Pretoria where all the actions of this church are coordinated. AWR offers a wide variety of programming, including religious programmes, news, information and local music, which are currently broadcast online only through its website http://af.awr.org/za/eng/4.
AWR has traditionally worked with analogue material, but the technical management of the station has decided to upgrade one of its studios with digital technology and have decided to use the AEQ CAPITOL IP console as the heart of the system. In the choice of such an important equipment, due to the characteristics of the installation and the operators, they were looking for an equipment that would offer the maximum audio quality with the latest digital technology available, but always guaranteeing a very user-friendly operation and especially working in a robust way given the big geographical isolation of the country.
AEQ CAPITOL IP is an 8-channel fixed configuration Digital Audio mixing console. In CAPITOL IP the implementation of IP connectivity is based on a single module of 16 input and 16 output channels, incorporated in its core. One of the main qualities of AEQ CAPITOL IP is the wide input capacity available: 4 mic/line, 12 analogue, 4 digital stereo AES/EBU (AES3), 2 digital stereo USB, 2 optional telephone lines, and optional digital multi-channel audio links; 16 AoIP channels over two Ethernet connectors or 64 MADI channels input over optical fibre.
Twenty years after first opening in Italy, the complete original cast of “Notre-Dame de Paris” is back on stage to celebrate the anniversary.
Following the success of the show in Paris, the musical made its official Italian debut at Gran Teatro of Rome in 2002, featuring the translated lyrics of Pasquale Panella. Produced in collaboration with Enzo Product Ltd, entirely curated and distributed by Vivo Concerti, and under the direction of Gilles Maheu, the 2022 tour will include over 180 shows throughout the Italian peninsula.
For this 20th Anniversary production, skillful and experienced sound team members were selected, including FOH Engineer Alberto Alicandro, who was part of the original crew, Monitor Engineer Simone “Zeta” Saccomandi, and Microphone Technician Andrea “Niski” Stanisci. The microphone equipment is entirely DPA, with 16 headsets, consisting of 4066 Omnidirectional and 6066 CORE Subminiature headsets, and two pairs of 2011 Twin Diaphragm Cardioid and 4018 Supercardioid microphones to capture room audio and feed IEM mixes.
“I often use room audio to make actors’ in-ear mix feel more natural, but we also use them to record ambient sounds and audience response. The pair of 2011s is arranged in A/B narrow or binaural configuration at the FOH position with a Jecklin Disk and one custom-made support that also houses a camera depending on the venue, while the 4018 in wide A/B configuration is positioned on the stage front,” comments Zeta. “I am a true DPA fanatic and use their mics for everything from classical to jazz to rock. I have a predilection for DPA accuracy. Using these capsules undoubtedly makes life easy in a complex musical like this one. It helps us keep standards high in many different theaters, from large auditoriums to far-from-ideal acoustic spaces, such as sports halls or outdoor venues. I hardly need extreme equalizations or unnatural interventions.”
Alberto also has no doubt: “DPA capsules always provide optimal intelligibility, even in the most articulated songs. Whether increasing or decreasing, EQ interventions are never harsh or dull. For example, when you emphasize high frequencies, they are always very natural. DPA is always the first choice in Notre-Dame de Paris!”
The collaboration between Producer David Zard, and Musical Supervisor, Composer and Singer Riccardo Cocciante, ”Notre-Dame de Paris” has been a global success, with 1,419 productions in nine languages, to 13 million spectators worldwide. Among the many awards the show has received, one notable mention goes to the strong partnership between the protagonists Giò Di Tonno and Lola Ponce, which earned accolades at the 2008 Sanremo Music Festival (Festival della canzone Italiana). It has also been recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest sales of tickets ever in the first year of operation, with more than one million tickets and over three million albums sold.
