The recent edition of the Ravenna Festival, presenting an array of opera, classical music, dance, jazz, and more each June and July in Italy, was supported by systems headed by Lawo mc²36 Mkll mixing consoles working with the d&b Soundscape immersive platform that were deployed by BH Audio, the festival’s long-time sound provider.
Collaborating closely with the festival’s team under founder Cristina Mazzavillani Muti, BH Audio, working with Italian sound engineer Massimiliano Salin, has consistently sought to optimize the sonic quality at the event, leading them to the mc²36 Mkll console. “There is no other live audio console on the market that gives me this freedom and quality,” states BH Audio managing director Massimo Carli.
The mc²36 MKII offers 256 processing channels, available at both 48 and 96 kHz, and natively supports ST2110, AES67, RAVENNA, and Ember+. It provides an I/O capacity of 864 channels, with local connections that include three redundant IP network interfaces, 16 mic/line inputs, 16 line outputs, eight AES3 inputs and outputs, eight GPI/O connections, and an SFP MADI port. Operational facilities include Button Glow and touch-sensitive rotary controls, color TFT fader-strip displays, proprietary LiveView video thumbnails, and 21.5-inch HD touchscreens. Loudness control is built in and complies with the ITU 1770 (EBU/R128 or ATSC/A85) standard, providing peak and loudness metering for individual channels as well as summing buses.
“For me, there is no real alternative to the mc²36 MkII,” says Carli, who, with Salin, explored the integration of d&b SoundScape software with the console. Recognizing the potential to elevate the festival’s auditory experience, the duo combined the technologies in an integration that was tested and embraced even before its official launch during the 2013 Ravenna Festival.
Carli: “The use of RAVENNA/AES67 makes the setup very clean compared to the past.” This technology enables communication between the mc²36 MkII console and the SoundScape DS100 processor to streamline signal flow. The sound team routes 128 direct outs post-fader from the mc²36 to the DS100 processors, which in turn drives loudspeakers via its AES/EBU outputs. The inclusion of a tracking system further enhances the experience, dynamically transmitting performers’ positions to the DS100.
