Crucial to the theatre's update would be a cutting-edge sound system, holding up to the rigours and demands of a wide variety of current theatrical productions and musical events. Fernando García Carrión, the head of the A/V department of Madrid-based installer Chemtrol's División Teatro (theater division), selected a wide range of EAW products as the system's loudspeaker and monitor components. Chemtrol recently installed the full system, with the support of EAW's Spanish representativePro3 & Co.
To determine the necessary sound system components, Pro3's engineering department, headed by Victor Pérez Cejas, conducted a comprehensive acoustic simulation of the theatre. Because of the venue's historic nature, it was important to integrate the system into the architecture as smoothly as possible. Chemtrol opted to install what could be considered two separate sets of loudspeaker components. The first is a fixed installation, which itself can cover most of the theatre. The second is a more mobile, modular/configurable system, adaptable for concerts and louder events that need extra reinforcement.
The first set of components includes EAW LS832 Line Source Loudspeakers in each of the hall's balcony levels (10 loudspeakers in total) and four EAW SBX220 Compact Subwoofers, installed in the orchestra pit. The second, more adaptable set of components includes 12 KF730 Compact Line Array Modules, which are flown from the proscenium arch, allowing for a straightforward stereo configuration or a three-channel L-C-R array. To maintain uniform coverage throughout the venue, four EAWJF60z compact full-range loudspeakers were installed as stage front-fills, covering the theatre's first few rows. For stage monitoring, the system is rounded out by four EAW LA212 and four LA215 compact full-range loudspeaker/monitors with Lake processing and Lab.gruppen amplification.
"EAW products offered us exactly what we needed for this project," stated Carrión. "We needed to be able to configure this system for a wide variety of applications and sounds, all while maintaining coverage in a challenging space and making sure the loudspeakers keep a low profile visually. And of course sound quality is paramount. EAW delivered all these things and more."
(Jim Evans)
