The first permanent Swiss installation of Meyer’s new M2D Compact Curvilinear Array loudspeaker system has been carried out by local distributor Niveau 2 at brand-new venue, Cargo Club, in Neuchatel. The 1,500 capacity rock and roll venue is in an extraordinary setting.

This year Switzerland hosts the Expo 02 national exhibition which features five 'arteplages' or artificial beaches along the country's beautiful lakesides. The Cargo Club is built into the framework of the Neuchatel arteplage -the Expo's artistic centre - in a forum constructed over the water.

From Tuesday to Thursday, the club's lounge area will be open to the public, providing a place to relax to ambient background music. A variety of different shows, from live music through to DJ sets, are scheduled for Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

The Cargo Club is managed by a company called Angus, based in Lausanne. Most of its employees have worked in the music industry for many years, and decided the club needed an improved sound system that would meet with approval from sound engineers of visiting bands from around the world.

"Every night there will be a different show so it's necessary to have an approved system which is acceptable to international sound crews," says Niveau 2's Patrick Vogelsang.

This was the first time Vogelsang had worked with Meyer's M2D system. The club's owners specifically requested a line array system at the beginning of discussions due to demand from promoters. "The M2D is the perfect size, and provides enough power and coverage for the venue," says Vogelsang. "We found the system really easy to fly, and it's given us extremely good horizontal coverage."

The system was designed by Vogelsang in concert with Meyer Sound's Todd Meier and Mike Cooper, and the installation was handled by Hyperson from Lausanne. The design process involved the first-time use of Meyer Sound’s MAPP Online (Multipurpose Acoustical Prediction Program) by Niveau 2.

"We designed the system on paper, then Todd made an assimilation using MAPP in Berkeley, which I confirmed with MAPP Online," Vogelsang explains. "Once the system was in place, I fine tuned it using Meyer's SIM System II FFT Analyzer, which confirmed that our initial acoustic predictions were correct. We were very impressed with MAPP Online - its precision means it's a powerful tool for installation. We used it just two weeks after it was launched at Frankfurt, so it was really good timing from our point of view."

The Cargo Club's system is based around the new M2D system and consists of six M2Ds each side of the 18 meter by 12 meter stage with two M2D- Sub Compact Subwoofers side by side, four 650-P High-Power Subwoofers, a central cluster of two UPA-1P Compact Wide Coverage loudspeakers and a further two UPA-1Ps for front fill. A front delay of two CQ-1 Wide Coverage Main loudspeakers has been flown for the gallery and can be used during the week when only background music is required.

A stage monitoring system of 10 UM-1P Narrow Coverage Stage Monitors and four USM-1P Extended Range Narrow Coverage Stage Monitors has also been supplied by Niveau 2.

Expo 02 runs for five months, from May to October. During the Expo, the Cargo Club will host a range of musical events that form part of the program. After this, the club will remain as one of Switzerland's hottest new venues.