Sotheby's recently acquired a new building in Bedford Square, London, to relocate the Institute, and appointed Surrey-based Sarner to design and install an audio system to fit the building's new purpose. The GR2 was selected for installation in a mobile rack, used for audio distribution in the Institute's lecture theatres and classrooms.
"Sotheby's required a flexible system, which could be configured in a number of ways," says Sarner's project manager, Ross Magri. "We initially considered using a traditional mixer but were concerned that this would confuse the users, who are often non-technical lecturers. We therefore looked for a product that was flexible in its design but simple to operate, and the GR2 fitted these requirements perfectly."
The GR2's inputs are used for wired and radio microphones, together with DVD and PC audio sources. Two of the outputs are used to drive local speakers, whilst the other two outputs are used to relay audio to a second lecture theatre, which is sometimes used as an overspill area.
Allen & Heath launched the GR2 - a 1U rackmount 9-input, 4-output analogue zone mixer - in autumn 2005. With 6 mic and 3 stereo line inputs, two zone outputs (1 stereo, 1 mono), and a mono aux output, the GR2 provides a simple and budget-friendly option for smaller installations.
"The GR2 offers so many great features, such as multi-zone distribution capability, and the fact that it is very user-friendly to operate, especially with the cover plate to blank off the complicated configuration controls," concludes Magri.
Sarner also installed Community speakers, a Kind amplifier and a Sabine anti-feedback processor, and provided a Sennheiser lapel radio mic system.
(Lee Baldock)
