France - Built in 1909, the Palais de l'Europe, an architectural jewel of the Belle Époque in the town of Menton on the French Riviera, regularly hosts exhibitions, highlighting works by local, national and international artists. These exhibitions are complemented by a varied programme of cultural and associated events in the 700-seat Italian-style Francis Palmero Theatre.
Working in such a historic and ornate building places additional demands on sound system designers in their quest to achieve clear, intelligible sound with consistent coverage across the audience, with additional consideration required for both visual aesthetics and point loads for mounting.
So, when the theatre approached Monaco-based events and installation AV technology specialists SES to propose a new sound system, project manager Didier Maddalon and AV technician Ronan Salieri configured a design drawing on compact, high-performance speakers from French manufacturer Nexo’s ID, P+ and ePS Series ranges, led by two pairs of the ID84 column speakers mounted to the left and right of the stage.
The ID84 features a dedicated coupling bracket used to join cabinets to create longer columns, also resulting in more focused low-frequency dispersion. ID84 cabinets are joined with the top cabinet inverted, such that tweeters are close coupled for uncompromised high-frequency performance.
At the Palais de l'Europe, the two-speaker ID84 columns are set for narrow vertical dispersion, and the main FOH system is supplemented by two Nexo L15 subs, six Nexo ePS10 point-source cabinets addressing the upper and lower tiers at the sides, and three Nexo ID24s for stage front-fills.
Amplification and processing for the system are provided by five Nexo NXAMPMk2 Powered TD Controllers equipped with Dante network cards.
Commenting on the new system for SES, Didier Maddalon and Ronan Salieri say: “Nexo offered the ID84, which impressed us with its performance and cost. Nexo also has a very complete range of products with excellent technical support, which is a plus for an integrator. We are very happy with the support provided by Nexo on this project. They offered us a relevant and elegant solution despite technical constraints and also considered the surroundings in which we were working.
“We would also like to thank the technical team at the Palais de l’Europe in Menton for their assistance and trust.”
