A new inner city campus for the University of Siegen (Siegen, Germany) includes large lecture hall that can accommodate almost 600, two smaller lecture rooms with a capacity of about 200 each, seven seminar rooms for 40 to 80 and a 280-square-meter foyer for events, all equipped with audio reinforcement systems by integrator NPB Veranstaltungstechnik (Wilnsdorf, Germany) that utilize CODA Audio loudspeakers.
“The specification for the systems was to generate a very good stereo image with good directional orientation, the greatest emphasis was placed on optimal speech intelligibility,” explains NPB Veranstaltungstechnik CEO Christian Keil. “Since events and seminars also take place in the lecture theatres, the systems had to be suitable for music playback — CODA Audio’s TiRAY system was the perfect choice.”
Almost 60 CODA components were used in the project, with the main system comprising 12 TiRAY array modules per side complemented by a centrally placed cluster of three TiLOW (mono bass) and three more TiRAY. The systems across the whole project are driven by seven CODA LINUS10-C DSP amplifiers.
Keil has 10 years of experience with CODA systems, during which time he has come to ppreciate the company’s products. “The rigging is unparalleled, and the performance of the speakers is sensational in relation to their weight,” he states. “TiRAY, for example, is equipped with two small 5-inch cone drivers yet it is full-range capable and equally suited to reproducing music and speech.”
The large lecture hall is equipped with a large LED wall, which meant that the NPB team had to cope with limited space: “The compact dimensions of the TiRAY allowed us to overcome this hurdle as well,” Keil notes. “In any case, loudspeakers in lecture theatres should be as visually unobtrusive as possible — the more discreet the better — and for this reason we decided to also fly the compact TiLOW bass extensions.”
University officials are satisfied with the results, he concludes. “They’re thrilled, even if things are only running in test mode at the moment owing to the Coronavirus restrictions. Just how good the systems sound will become clear in the autumn when normal university operations are resumed.”
