According to Complete Audio Berlin's general manager, André Rauhut, while the Spandau Citadel is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful outdoor locations in Berlin, it is also one of the most technically and logistically challenging. "The first issue was getting all of our gear onto the site - we couldn't truck it directly to the stage as we normally would as the only access is via a rather narrow drawbridge!" explained Rauhut.
"Once on site, our brief was to provide sound coverage for a 55m x 85m area, bearing in mind that we could be looking at a standing audience of over 10,000 for a gig like Motorhead or Scooter, or just a fraction of that for fully seated events such as classical music or opera. The biggest challenge was providing a system that could handle everything from Rage Against the Machine one night to Gregorian chants the next, and sound good throughout."
To that end, Rauhut decided to field his Martin Audio Wavefront W8LC line array system powered by 31 Crest Audio Pro 8200 and 10 Pro 9200 amplifiers with system processing from XTA. A further eight Crest Audio Pro 8200 power the stage monitor system.
"It's a system in which I have complete confidence," says Rauhut. "It's an extremely versatile combination, and it sounds great in any situation. I've had Crest amplifiers on the system for four years, and the Pro200 Series has proved itself to be one of the most powerful and dynamic amplifier packages you can buy. We have a new Martin Audio W8L Longbow system arriving in July, and Crest will be powering that too. I'm looking forward to that."
(Jim Evans)
