Schauspiel Hannover upgrades with Alcons
- Details
After the sound mixing desk had been renewed in the Schauspielhaus two years ago, the next logical step was the modernisation of the main and back-stage sound system.
The Schauspiel Hannover serves a wide range of performances and reinforces them as needed. “In general we are seeing an increasing demand for microports in theatre productions,” says sound engineer Markus Folberth. “The demands of the various productions as well as the guest events in the house are already described as very 'mature'.”
With regard to the modernisation of the sound system, the sound engineering department wanted first and foremost a homogeneous coverage of the entire auditorium as well as good speech intelligibility, because the previous point source solution had shown weaknesses in this case. “In addition, the old system audibly reached its limits in music productions and then quickly sounded fatiguing,” says Lutz Findeisen, head of the sound / video department at the Schauspiel Hannover. “The staff of the sound department wanted to find their musical sonic tool. We were looking for a real extension of the expressive possibilities of the sound reinforcement.”
After comparing different line array systems of various manufacturers, an Alcons solution was selected. Ultimately, the company chose a main PA system consisting of 24 Alcons LR14 compact pro-ribbon line-array systems (10x 90° and 2x 120° per side), supplemented by a center PA system consisting of six Alcons LR7 micro pro-ribbon line-array systems and two Alcons BF151 and BF362 subwoofers as low-frequency extensions.
For back-of-stage per side each two Alcons RR12 pro-ribbon point-source arrays and a BF362 subwoofer are used. All systems are powered by a total of six Sentinel10 4-channel amplified loudspeaker controllers.
For mobile use, there are a further four Alcons VR12 monitor, four Alcons VR5 mini-monitor, two Alcons BF362 subwoofers, two Sentinel3 and one Sentinel10 amplified loudspeaker controllers available.
The entire sound engineering team was involved in the decision-making process. “We agreed that Alcons could cover the widest range of productions,” explains Findeisen. “In addition, we noticed positively that the pro-ribbon drivers never sound harsh, even at high sound pressure levels. The Alcons systems have an unobtrusive directness - a sympathetic, natural resolution in speech and music. So we can create the sonic proximity to the events that we had wished us in advance. The compact design and appearance were also convincing.”
(Jim Evans)
