As well as housing the city's biggest theatre, the RaM Colosseum also features three gyms, clubs, a library and restaurant, all connected by a central atrium. A major feature is that the theatre has a unique, hydraulically-operated adjustable floor which allows it to be adapted for a variety of events. The audio system is based around a Yamaha M7CL-48ES and SB168-ES stage boxes.
The system designer was Krisztian Varga, pro-audio consultant at Budapest sound specialists Audmax Kft. Working closely with the RaM Colosseum's chief sound engineer Bertalan Kupcsik, he chose the Yamaha solution for a number of reasons. "I suggested using the SB-168ES and Ethersound, to ensure maximum sound quality and also to save on cabling costs," says Krisztian. "The RaM Colosseum hosts many international shows, with different engineers using the system on a daily basis, so having a console that is very rider-friendly was very important. All of these reasons made the M7CL the right choice. Bertalan was also adamant that Yamaha was the right solution - we didn't actually look at consoles by other manufacturers."
The theatre's Ethersound network is installed to allow the M7CL to be moved to different places, depending on the event taking place, allowing the audio system to match the auditorium's flexibility.
"Because this is such a flagship venue for Budapest, the audio system had to complement the building's many cutting-edge technical features and it does so extremely well," says Krisztian. "It is very flexible, the audio quality is excellent and it's very easy to use. The Ethersound network is really stable and engineers really like the M7CL. We also use the network to monitor the system wirelessly via Yamaha Studio Manager."
(Lee Baldock)