Canada’s La Cité Collégiale, located in the nation’s capital, prides itself on its innovative, forward-thinking approach. This initiative is apparent in its recently opened Excentricité education facility — a $30 million, 34,000-square-foot technology pavilion officially opened in September 2018 featuring a variety of spaces, including a bistro, gym and 4,000-square-foot immersive theatre-esque space boasting 360-degree sound and video.
La Cité Collégiale installed Sennheiser’s Digital 6000 system in its new Excentricité building which features a 360-degree room used for theatre productions, conferences and band performances.
The 360-degree theatre in Excentricité, dubbed The Studio, seats 1,200 people and is used for conferences, live music performances and play productions. Patrick Roy of systems integrator group CBCI Telecom has collaborated with La Cité a variety of times in the past and spec’d the entire Excentricité project. He selected Sennheiser’s Digital 6000 wireless system for its ability to eliminate feedback, its wide dynamic range and its Dante connectivity — a key feature for The Studio. Dante was a key component for La Cité when designing its audio system.
“The Studio features a complete digital system over network with a Dante board,” Roy explains. “It was La Cité’s vision to have a complete Dante system — both audio and video — in the 360-degree Studio. Dante is the new wave with consoles, mics and speakers all changing to this platform. Depending on the network, it can be much cheaper. So, the Dante connectivity coupled with its high sound quality made the Digital 6000 a perfect fit.”
Installed alongside The Studio’s Digital 6000 system was Sennheiser’s MobileConnect — the company’s system and app that streams audio content via Wi-Fi to smartphones. The MobileConnect smartphone hearing system app is ideal for use in universities where it provides students with personalized audio. Theatres also benefit from the system as it’s an ideal application for attendees using hearing aids. Since The Studio holds both conferences and plays performances, the MobileConnect system was a perfect fit for Roy and his team.
“MobileConnect is great because it offers a state-of-the-art audio experience and is easy to use for the end-user,” Roy said. “It really enhances the listening experience.”
The Studio boasts 252 feet of 360-degree video, and with close to 50 loudspeakers installed to support the immersive audio-visual experience, Roy and his team were tasked with finding an audio system that would keep feedback to a minimum.
“With so many speakers in one space, you really need a system that can prevent feedback,” Roy explains. “The Studio features a d&b Soundscape system, two line arrays and Renkus-Heinz Iconyx speakers placed behind the screens as well as speakers specifically for conferences. Finding an audio system that could eliminate feedback was important.”
La Cité’s new Excentricité building features close to 50 loudspeakers for the immersive audio experience. Digital 6000 was the microphone system of choice to keep feedback to a minimum
Because The Studio holds a variety of different events — from conferences to theatre productions to live band performances — Roy needed a multi-purpose system that could deliver clear audio, whatever the application.
“The Digital 6000 Series works great with guitars for live bands and because the space can be rented out for live performances, this was important,” Roy explains. “The Studio was a unique project because of the 360-degree aspect. We made sure to choose only the best system for this project to make the sound adaptable for whatever the space held, whether it was a conference or a play.”
After using the system for a few months, Roy said La Cité’s staff have been blown away by the audio in the 360-degree Studio. “The sound in The Studio has far surpassed La Cité’s expectations,” Roy said. “Even the patrons that have attended a performance in the 360-degree studio are saying great things about the audio experience.”
