The Auditori Winterthur is a convention centre in the heart of the business complex of L'Illa in Barcelona. The Auditori was planned by architect Rafael Moneo, incorporating acoustics designed byIgini Arau and was originally built to present music concerts without the aid of amplification for up to six hundred and fifty listeners.
In due course, with an expansion into new activities such as conferences and corporate events, the need for a sound system became increasingly apparent. The original installation however, proved less than perfect as all the sound amplified through it was reflected back by a curved wall at the rear of the auditorium making speech unintelligible in many instances.
The venue's technical staff suggested that a new reinforcement system sited differently and with better directivity control could overcome the acoustic problems. There followed a meeting between Salvador Serra from Imaginamusica who are local partners for the Spanish d&b audiotechnik distributor Puerta de Sonido, Oscar Lladonosa the installer and David Roselló from d&b's Spanish office.
It was agreed that by placing a small Qi-Series loudspeaker cluster high and centred each side this would eliminate the sound reflected by the walls which would improve the acoustics dramatically. Before making a final decision it was decided that the system should be tried on a live show in the near future.
The installation comprised two clusters one on each side containing one Qi subwoofer and two Qi1 loudspeakers with E0s as mobile front-fills to cover the front rows. Amplification was provided by d&b audiotechnik's E-PACs controlled from FoH via their remote platform Rope C.
(Jim Evans)
