Berlin-based HOLOPLOT has announced the installation of its X1 Matrix Array technology at Misr Masjid, a newly-built mosque that’s central to the development of the country’s new administrative capital outside of Cairo, Egypt.
As one of the largest mosques in the world, the Misr Masjid project presented the unique challenge of delivering clear, intelligible speech to a congregation of thousands in a space of more than 10,000 square meters without compromising the architectural integrity of the building’s mainly marble interior.
HOLOPLOT provides audio coverage throughout the mosque with nine loudspeaker array positions, each array is mounted as high as 23 meters above the floor and concealed at a significant distance from the listener behind painted cloth or metal. As a result, the system is invisible to worshipers.
In this instance, the X1 handled an existing reverberation time of 6 seconds, caused by both the marble interior and 60-meter-high dome, managing not to excite the reverberant field by directing energy away from reflective surfaces and preventing the need for large amounts of acoustic treatment.
Emad El-Saghir of HOLOPLOT states, “This grand mosque is an exemplar of X1’s technological capability. We introduced several brand new system concepts that are not attainable with any other technology. The X1 Matrix Arrays utilize advanced optimization algorithms to generate uniform coverage in tightly defined zones with minimal spill to dedicated quieter areas or reverberant surfaces.
“This way, speech transmission and the direct-to-reverberant ratio were increased to record values. A steerable-line-array-based solution would have required the deployment of far more arrays to achieve anything comparable.”
Emad Shenouda, projects director at integrator Audio Technology, adds, “I’m pleased to say that together with HOLOPLOT, we met the client’s brief of creating a fully integrated system that satisfies all stakeholders. The project was full of challenges, starting from the size of the mosque, the room acoustics and of course project deadlines. Thanks to X1’s ability to not only control sound in the vertical but also horizontal it achieves unbelievable intelligibility, thought impossible in a space clad in marble and featuring a huge dome at its center. HOLOPLOT exceeded our expectations in both the quality of sound, and in hiding the equipment in such a way that it blends in seamlessly with the interior.”
