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contents AudiSolutions
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Fox Theater Pomona Blending Art and Audio
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New Ampetronic Loop to Stadshuset
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QPAC Glows in New Lights
Meyer Sound Powers ACC
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Band on the Wall Sounds Anew
Sounding in Historic Studies
This issue of SS-SoundSolutions has two sets of page numbers - SS-1 to SS-52 for SoundSolutions, pages OS-1 to OS-26 for OfficeSolutions and AS-1 to AS14 for AudiSolutions. OfficeSolutions and AudiSolutions is inserted between pages SS-42 and SS-43 of SoundSolutions.
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New Ampetronic Loop to Stadshuset Stockholm City Hall - or Stadshuset, as it is popularly referred to in the Swedish parlon - is home for more than one distinction- in structure, texture and nature too. Recently, the building's Council Chamber required a new induction loop system to aid its hard of hearing visitors and staff. Looping equipment manufacturer Ampetronic was proven to provide the best solution demonstrating the importance of good loop design. An AS snapshot.
Europe plays home to many distinctive, historic structures but not many buildings boast the glamour and pride like that of the Stadshusetthe Stockholm City Hall. Built over a period of 12 years from 1911 to 1923, consuming over 18 million, specially manufactured red bricks, it carries a unique tradition of architecture and application. One of the most famous buildings in entire Europe, the 90year-old architectural marvel is known not only for its National Romanticism architectural style, 10,000-pipe organ and 106-metre high bell tower, but also as the setting for the annual Nobel Prize banquet. The building's Council Chamber, or RĂĽdssalen, has been the seat of Stockholm local government since 1923. It seats 108 Councillors and a balcony that can accommodate 200 members of the public. It also employs massive audio and video systems to facilitate national and international events that are literally exclusive to the venue. As part of the regular upkeep of its audio-visual systems, the Council Chamber had indeed incorporated an induction
loop a few years ago. However, it was proving very troublesome with less than adequate coverage. To plug in the 'loophole' as also to elevate the audio ambience to a new exalted level, the governing body had roped in the Stockholm-based audio specialists Sennberg AB to design and install a replacement. "I was asked to do an analysis of the existing loop system because there had been a lot of complaints about
it," says Sennberg AB's Johnny Karlsson. "It had been installed as two 13 x 13 metre arrays, as the loop amplifiers used by the installation company couldn't supply the impedance required for the necessary coverage of 13 x 26 metres," says Karlsson. "The result was a three metre wide corridor down the middle of the room with insufficient field strength, which meant the Council President - who
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• INSTALLS • uses a hearing aid and who sits at the rostrum right in the middle of that strip - wasn't receiving any signal!"
All the furniture was moved to one half of the room and the old carpet was removed. Then they installed the loop in the vacated half of the room, and got a new carpet laid over the space. Then, all the furniture was moved to the other half of the room and the process repeated.
According to him, towards solving that problem, they had installed a small perimeter loop just to cover the chairman, but that created more problems for other delegates close to the rostrum. Moreover, it didn't solve the problem further down the room. To compound the complexitiy, the same problem was found for delegates close to one of the long sides, because of too big a gap between the loop and the wall. "All-in-all, it was a very unsatisfactory solution," he explains.
"We designed and installed a low-loss array because there are other rooms in the building which use, or plan to use, loop systems and the spill from a perimeter loop could interfere with them," he says.
To solve all these problems, Karlsson recommended completely removing the existing induction loops and installing a brand new Ampetronic low-loss system, that involved using two ILD1000G loop amplifiers and an SP5 phase shifter / metal loss corrector.
The system also had to be carefully designed because the building is ‘K marked’ - the Swedish equivalent of the UK's listed building status - but installation was straightforward, as it was carefully arranged to coincide with the installation of a new carpet.
The changes incorporated brought in remarkable change in the aural environment of the whole building. The beauty of the system was that not only it significantly improved the audio perfection of the venue but also got integrated into its architecture, complimenting its aesthetic appeal. "The loop is linked to a line output from a Televic EQ unit, which acts as a mixer for all of the councillor microphones," explains Karlsson. "The Ampetronic system has already made a huge difference, with many Councillors commenting on the far superior performance over the old system."
The Hall of Many a Haul Stockholm City Hall - the seat of Municipal Council for the Swedish capital - draws its distinction from its being the venue of the Nobel Prize banquet and one of the city's major tourist attractions. Housing offices and conference rooms as well as ceremonial halls, besides the luxury restaurant Stadshuskällaren, it enjoys an illustrious history, dating back to early 20th century. In 1907, the city council decided to build a new city hall at the former site of Eldkvarn. Ragnar Östberg, one of the renowned architects of the day was entrusted with the task of designing the City Hall. Östberg modified his original draft using elements of Westman's project, including the tower. The construction took twelve years, from 1911 to 1923. Nearly eight million red bricks were used. The dark red bricks, called "munktegel" (monks's brick) because of their traditional use in the construction of monasteries and churches, were provided by Lina brick factory near Södertälje.
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The building follows a roughly rectangular ground plan. It is built around two open spaces, a piazza called Borgargården on the eastern side, and the Blue Hall (Blå hallen) to the west. The Blue Hall, with its straight walls and arcades, incorporates elements of a representative courtyard. Its walls are in fact without blue decorations, but it has kept its name after Östbergs original design. It is known as the
dining hall used for the banquet held after the annual Nobel Prize award ceremony. The organ in the Blue Hall is with its 10,270 pipes the largest in Scandinavia. Above the Blue Hall lies the Golden Hall (Gyllene Salen), named after the decorative mosaics made of more than 18 million tiles. The mosaics make use of motifs from Swedish history.
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Meyer Sound Powers ACC
With its recent addition of a Meyer Sound M'elodie line array loudspeaker system, the Adelaide Convention Centre has become an even more attractive events venue for Australia's largest industry gatherings. The centre took top honors at the 2009 South Australian Tourism Awards in the category of Meetings and Business Tourism and silver in the Qantas Award for Excellence in Sustainable Tourism, and in November reported a new attendance record at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Haematology Society of Australia and New Zealand.
"As a convention centre, spoken word is our foremost concern," says Richard Builder, Adelaide Convention Centre's technical services manager who oversaw the audio upgrade. "But of course patrons tend to remember events from the artists' performances and forget about the speeches, so there is also a great need for the system to sound beautiful and rich at these times also.
entirely flat plane," continues Builder. "And sightlines were also considered, so were easy rigging and customer support. The Meyer Sound system ticked all of our boxes."
"A large amount of consideration was taken for audio quality, and the ability to distribute sound evenly across an
Situated on the banks of the picturesque River Torrens, the Adelaide Convention Centre hosts conferences, exhibitions, banquets, and award presentations for groups of 20 to 5,000 people, building on an active client base that spans the medical, travel, and financial industries and colleges. When the center decided to upgrade its sound system, versatility became the key requirement specified by the committee of management and technicians. They soon found the best solution in the M'elodie line array loudspeaker after hearing it at a Meyer Sound audio applications seminar for local technicians.
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The resulting system comprises 32 M'elodie line array loudspeakers and eight 500-HP subwoofers, serving as a portable system in the center's event spaces of various sizes. Prior to each event, the technical crew uses the MAPP Online Pro acoustical prediction program to design the most ideal loudspeaker configuration, and drives the system using a Galileo loudspeaker management system with two Galileo 616 processors. In addition to its transparent sound quality, M'elodie's tight control performs to Builder's satisfaction: "Walls can be an issue as it is very difficult to cover an entire venue floor without creating reflections. Unlike most entertainment venues, our system operators are normally situated right up against the rear wall, and patrons are often very close to the walls as well. Even with acoustical treatment, standing waves and reflections can degrade the audio quality. M'elodie allows us to cover all areas on the floor evenly, yet keeping as much sound pressure off the walls as possible."
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The use of M'elodie line arrays has reduced the off-axis energy on the stage. "Apart from even dispersion," says Builder, "the line array technology also brings good rejection of audio from the sides of the cabinets, hence giving us much greater headroom for the lectern microphones. "The system has met all of our requirements, and surprises
everyone in regards to the output. Most impressive is the smoothness of the transitions between cabinets in an array and also between stacks," concludes Builder. "As normal when a production company purchases new equipment, you wonder how you got by without it in the past. We are already considering more next year."
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Sounding in Historic Studies The Università degli Studi di Torino (University of Torino) - one of the oldest existing universities in the world - is known not only for its grand medieval architectural styles but also for its quality academics. As part of its constant upgraditions to its facilities, to be in tune with modern day requirements, the university had recently incorporated new audio system designed and installed by QSC Audio. An AS snapshot. The University of Torino is one of Italy's leading Italian public Universities with an international reputation for high quality teaching and research. With its 12 Faculties, 55 Departments and approximately 66,000 students, it is today one of the largest in Italy, covering all disciplines except Engineering and Architecture. Although the Rettorato (Chancellor's Building) at the Palazzo dell'Università - which houses the entire administration - occupies an architecturally-magnificent building with historic quadrangle that dates back to the mid-18th century, the University has already celebrated its 600th anniversary, since it was originally founded in 1404 by Pope Benedetto XIII. This date, other than making the University one of the oldest Italian institutes, places it
among the few of European Universities to boast a medieval origin. Recently, the aula magna del Rettorato - the great hall, and main assembly room for the University underwent a complete audio-visual fit-out. After a thorough market search and a highly-competitive evaluation process, the university administrators and their consultants decided to rope in QSC Audio the sound reinforcement and signal transport. However, working in an environment with marble floor, adorned with famous statues of Vittorio Amedeo II and Carlo Emanuele III - the work of eminent brothers, Ignazio and Filippo Collino - and many old canvasses proved an exacting task for the contractors, Electronic Engineering.
Fortunately, the University had taken the precaution at an earlier stage to create a room on the floor underneath and insert conduits into the cavities to allow the fixings to made easily, and non-invasively up in the aula magna. Technical manager Antonio Caprioli says the requirement was for a system that could transparently reproduce a wide programme of events, from full orchestral recitals to Honorary Doctorate presentations and conferences, in which delegates would be speaking through eight gooseneck mics to audiences of up to 250. Evenlydispersed sound needed to be distributed in an uncomplicated manner, across the floor and up to the raked seating area. A smaller system had already been installed during an earlier phase but
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the next phase was to enlarge the control room, to accommodate video switching, an FOH mixing position and audio drive rack, with the option for a secondary control position out in the auditorium (when the speaker positions would also be reoriented). The Universitysought the best advice and enlisted as their consultant top acoustician Emanuele Prochietto, who lectures at specialist audio and acoustics college APM. He created the specification document. "Prochietto is the only person in this country that can teach at this level of sound theory," believes Giammario Piumatti of Audio Link - QSC's Italian distributor, who provided all the audio equipment. Since complex cable runs were out of the question, Prochietto wanted to see an easy, bi-directional signal path that would transport multiple audio channels to and from the mixing desk from the top table and lectern mics over a single CAT5 cable; at the same time it would provide a monitor system and allow streaming of events to the University's website.
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RAVE 520uz and 522aa network devices, operating under QSControl.net, were specified for control. This would enable multi-channel audio to be run over CobraNet, with low latency and high sampling rate offering pristine audio through an Ethernet cable; this solved all the problems. "The need for an expanded system was driven by the number of highprofile events now being staged here," confirmed Mr. Caprioli. "It needed to be better and simpler and the DSP matrix also needs to service an annexe room which is used for overspill." Six QSC ISIS I-282H, with rotatable waveguide, are spaced evenly down either side of the room (with two delay taps set into the system processor). The sound reinforcement system is powered by three QSC Audio RMX 4050HD amplifiers.
Visually, the infrastructure is served by an electric drop-down screen above the main stage and a number of plasma repeater screens. It also incorporates video conferencing and all signal feeds are switched through an Extron device. Summarising, Antonio Caprioli says, "The sound is a good deal superior to what we had previously with a high degree of intelligibility. The fact that we can have two scene presets gives us further flexibility for changing the desk positions." The sensitive installation certainly pays homage to a building that is truly a palazzo and the infusion of QSC's proprietary digital technology has provided a simple and intuitive audio network solution to the University's complex requirements.
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Fox Theater Pomona
Blending Art and Audio
Following a ten-year dark streak and $10 million, two-year restoration project, the greater Los Angeles area has witnessed the rebirth of another iconic entertainment venue, the Fox Theater Pomona. First opened in 1931 as an art deco movie palace from Hollywood's golden age, the 2,000capacity auditorium once again came to life with a rollicking concert by Gogol Bordello, who properly inaugurated the room's new LACOUSTICS KUDO rig. Working in tandem with LACOUSTICS, Oxnard-based Rat Sound Systems designed and installed the loudspeaker system, which is comprised of twin 11-enclosure KUDO arrays and eight SB28 subwoofers, four per side, all powered by LA8 amplified controllers. Rat also specified the purchase of four portable 8XT coaxial enclosures for use on smaller events. "All of the groups that have performed here since we reopened have been extremely impressed with the sound system," says Fox Theater Pomona AV/IT Manager Maria Tarozzi. "Many of the touring managers and front-of-house engineers coming through immediately recognize the KUDO arrays and are impressed that we have such an excellent rig here inhouse. They've all looked forward to mixing on it, and then loved it once they did. We are told repeatedly that 'the sound here is really, really nice' and 'you guys are very lucky to have
this system,' and I agree. It sounds amazing." Although Rat Sound is primarily known for its high-profile tours with Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam and Ben Harper, as well as the annual Coachella and Stagecoach Festivals, the sound reinforcement company was highly recommended to the Fox by local promoter Goldenvoice, who is the exclusive promoter of live music for the venue. According to Rat Sound's head honcho, Dave Rat, "Our primary focus as a company, of course, remains on touring; however, we do take on select install projects when venues are interested in a high-quality LACOUSTICS system. The support we get from the manufacturer is truly exceptional and it is always very much a cooperative process between the client, Rat Sound and L-ACOUSTICS in putting a system together. "Using the SOUNDVISION modeling
software, we ran a number of different system configurations for the Fox, analyzed their respective costs and coverages, and came up with a cool KUDO setup that ultimately performed exactly as predicted," he continues. "Combined with the simplicity of specifying the LA8 amplifier, DSP and control system, putting together an LACOUSTICS install is truly a smooth and slick process." Fox Theater Pomona can be booked for film showings, gala parties and other events, but the lion's share of its calendar is dedicated to hosting toptier indie and alternative acts. In the first few months, Wilco, Flaming Lips, Marilyn Manson, Cake, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Sonic Youth, Paramore, Ween, 311 and numerous others will have all played on the new KUDO rig.
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QPAC Glows in New Lights The Queensland Government in Australia, has recently invested $34 million Australian dollars to refurbish the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), located on Brisbane's South Bank, its first major upgrade since opening in 1985. The project included new seating, installation of the latest lighting technology and improved acoustics for the 2,000-seat Lyric Theatre and the 1,800-seat Concert Hall, as well as new public spaces such as bars, cafés and foyers. Anolis was one of the high powered LED lighting brands specified for environmental lighting around the Concert Hall, Lyric Theatre and ground level bars, due to its robustly engineered finish, high quality and reputation for performance - not only in Australia but worldwide. Anolis LED fixtures are known for their long life, low power consumption and low maintenance. Says Sales Manager Blair Terrace of Anolis Australian distributors ULA, "The choice of LED fixtures provides an overall reduction in electricity, and so, for many projects today, is an instant 'first choice'. Add to that the excellent performance and effects that can easily be achieved with an Anolis
LED solution, and the value proposition is easy to demonstrate particularly in large venues like QPAC". All lighting designs and specifications were by AECOM senior lighting designer, Rick Morrison, in collaboration with QPAC's Lighting Department. The installation allows the QPAC Concert Hall to change mood and theme virtually at will, via subtle changes in the colour and intensity of a series of Anolis ArcLine 36 Optic RGB strips. It gives patrons a new experience with every production they attend, even before the curtain goes up! Morrison has made use of Anolis on numerous previous applications. At QPAC, over 50 Anolis ArcLine 36 Optic RGB fixtures are installed in the Concert Hall for roof and wall washing, as well as underneath the foyer bars of the Lyric Theatre and Concert Hall giving seamless illumination. Anolis ArcSource 7 Warm White fixtures are fitted over the tops of the bar creating a rich, warm
glowing effect. Utilizing high powered Luxeon emitters, the Anolis ArcLine 36 Optic RGB strip is designed and made with the highest quality interchangeable optical systems ensuring that the desired effect can be achieved in the widest range of architectural applications. In total, 14 Anolis Drivers are used to power and control the fixtures in the Concert Hall comprising Anolis ArcPower 360, Anolis ArcPower 144 and Anolis ArcPower 36s. QPAC's Lighting Manager, Doug Brimblecombe comments that the Anolis product has proved to be "Very reliable" and achieved a really good result in terms of creating an interesting and different ambient environment for visitors. A few strips were left over from the architectural project, so Brimblecombe decided to purchase some extra controllers and make them available to the venues as part of their theatrical equipment inventory. With such a small footprint, they can easily be ensconced into sets and scenic elements where other products would not fit. A recent example of its use in this context was for the production of Eurobeat - Almost Eurovision - under the main stage riser. "It was a tight space, but the Anolis strips gave the impression that the stage was floating," says Brimblecombe.
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Band on the Wall Sounds Anew Band on the Wall - the iconic landmark of Manchester's soundscape - recently re-emerged onto the industrial city's musical horizon, and with a bang. Closed for around five years for renovation, the historic cultural venue had a total transformation of both structure and texture that included new décor, audio, AV systems, besides entertainment amenities. An SS report. The landmark 350-capacity venue on Swan Street in the Northern Quarter of Manchester's city centre dates back some 200 years and has been associated with live music for much of its rich cultural heritage. The name 'Band on the Wall' comes from the 1930s when musicians used to perform from precarious platforms strapped to the wall. It has recently been completely renovated, restored and reborn by registered charity Inner City Music with the help of a £4 million combined award from the Arts Council England, Manchester City Council and Lottery Heritage Fund to transform the venue into a 21st century centre of music with strong community ties. The fine Victorian bones of the building have been revealed and a new sound system has been installed, along with
in intelligently integrated AV kit. The biggest surprise may be the bright and stripped-down new Picturehouse space - for daytime chilling, art and smaller events - adjoining the concert hall. However, the the heart of the whole renovation in terms of performing facilities is the brand new audio system designed by Adlib. The company roped in L-Acoustics dVDOSC sound systems to lift the venue's legendary audio finesse to a new high. Adlib's Roger Kirby, who was entrusted with the task of designing and installing the sound system, first set up some detailed demonstrations featuring several different audio systems at Adlib's premises in Liverpool, from which the dV-DOSC was recognised as the best sounding option. This was followed by a number of speaker and room
simulations in L-Acoustics' Sound Vision to evaluate loudspeaker placement and optimise coverage within the room. The venue which is intimately sized having a semicircular balcony to the rear of the room. "We all agreed that dV-DOSC rig would work best in the space offering a detailed high frequency and solid low end response, with the system also having adequate headroom for the eclectic programme of live events that are planned," states Kirby. As per the design, the main audio system of 3 x dV-DOSC mid highs with a single dV-sub flown as of Left and Right hangs, with 2 dV-DOSC flown centrally to cover the balcony. The system is completed with 3 x SB28 subs with pair of ADLIB AA81 cabinets utilised as centre fills providing coverage to the area directly in front
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• INSTALLS • of the stage. The control playback rack includes BSS FDS 960 graphics for grab EQ and Tascam CD-RW / CD playback machines along with an ASL Comm.'s system. A Soundcraft Vi4 was specified as the main mixing console for the venue, specified due to its routing flexibility and the intuitive design of its control surface which will assist visiting engineers, who may be newcomers to digital mixing. The Vi4's MADI output allows all 48 input channels plus stereo mix to be sent to the Band on the Wall's recording studio for capture should this be required. The music will encompass a wide range of musical genres, from jazz to dance (including DJs), rock to soul, and it will also be utilised for a variety of music-based educational programmes. For monitors, Adlib supplied eight of their bi-amped low profile 1515W 'MP3' wedges. These are processed with BSS 334 mini-drive crossovers and driven by Crown XTi1000 and 4000 power amplifiers. There is no monitor desk as such in the house rig. The 8 monitor sends are all handled by the Soundcraft Vi4 at FOH, however there is a 48 channel multi-core infrastructure with break in/out facilities; this will allow swift patching to any visiting monitor console when artists require a dedicated monitor mix.
Adlib also supplied a full package of mics and stands - Shure, BSS, Sennheiser, AKG and DPAs - and BSS AR133 active DI boxes - Equipment is housed in custom ADLIB manufactured sleeves and flight cases. The main challenge of the project was helping to design the new PA flying facilities that entailed custom structural steel work being newly installed in the venue's roof. Adlib worked closely with the Shed km architects and all main building contractors to ensure they could get their flown cabinets accurately positioned and the subs appropriately ensconced beneath the stage. "Adlib has proven itself to be an exemplary company throughout the entire sound install process at Band on the Wall," said Gavin Sharp CEO of the legendary venue. "Not only have they completed the install of probably the finest PA in any small scale venue in the UK on time and on budget, they also made a huge contribution to the final design of the rigging, sound and AV studios, through positive relations with other contractors and system designers. The careful sequencing and system design from Adlib's Engineers has meant that the venue is now fully operational and fit to fulfil it's full remit, which includes presenting the very best music from around the world".
The Different Bands The Band on the Wall has had too many interesting names and intriguing history to its credit. Originally called George and Dragon - the genesis of which is still unknown - it was called Band of the Wall, Band in the Wall, and finally Band on the Wall. Noted English musical legend Ernie Tyson Flo's uncle, during the late 1930s first installed a stage up on the wall as an elevated podium for musical performances to entertain the customers to the bustling market area that it was during the time.
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According to early records about the venue, there were steps to climb up to the stage. Bands that usually comprised two accordionists, piano, drums, and a singer - sometimes a saxophonist too - used to play for few hours six evenings per week. It emerged to be one of the cornerstones of Manchester's music scene for the greater part of the last century and was at the centre of Manchester's punk scene in the late 1970s where Buzzcocks, The Fall and Joy Division played their music.