Opera's consultant specified that the theatre must be multi-functional, and that the technical system needed to offer standalone use by anyone, trained or not, without the assistance of the college's AV department. As a result, A&T was required to design a system which allowed flexible mixing for musicals and plays, whilst also delivering simple and user-intuitive control for lecturers and presenters.
"Our goal was to find a digital signal processor which could directly link to a theatre-sized mixing console," commented Alessandro Baroni of A&T. "This would allow the end-user to control all audio via a simple preset recall, but should more complex mixing be needed, the console could simply be activated and off they'd go."
After discussing the idea with distributor, Adeo, the integrator settled on a combination of Symetrix' open-architecture Radius 12x8 DSP for 'standard use', with a Yamaha LS9-32 looking after performance audio.
As both mixer and DSP feature Audinate's Dante protocol, Baroni chose to connect all inputs into the rear of the Radius before channelling them over Cat 5e cable into the LS9's optional MY16-AUD card, and then back to the DSP again for loudspeaker processing. This allows seamless switching between 'lecture mode' and 'performance mode', and provides the means for non-technical staff to control audio via either the Radius' front-panel, or through the SymVue touchscreen control software configured by A&T's Symetrix-certified programmer.
With the new theatre space being designed to handle the most impressive occasion, Adeo recommended Renkus-Heinz's IC-live loudspeakers (four ICL-FRs and 4 ICL215S-FRs) to provide seamless coverage, with Beyerdynamic wireless microphones (OPUS 910s) enabling wire-free movement. Lorenzo Seneci of Adeo Group states that the system "needed to provide a very high SPL to cater for the wide range of different events, but to achieve this we would traditionally have to employ point-source loudspeakers or line arrays. However, due to the aesthetic restraints in place, it demanded a beam-steering solution."
Panasonic projectors were also brought in to handle video content and are controlled by an Extron video distribution unit. "We are totally satisfied with the end-result," remarks the university's spokesperson. "The Radius' preset recall is very simple and completely suitable for the range of different situations we encounter."
(Jim Evans)
