The Congress Palace (Ciudad de Oviedo) recently opened in the heart of Spain’s Asturian capital and has already become the newest symbol for its spectacular architecture.
Designed by Valencia-born architect Santiago Calatrava, the eliptical-shaped venue includes three floors with several different function room and exhibition spaces, as well as the main spectacular auditorium. The unusually shaped 8,202 square-foot hall has a seating capacity of 2,144 seats, with a height of 149.6 feet up to the dome.
With the complex geometry (and high reverberation time) of the room, the choice of sound system was critical—and after an extensive study of electro-acoustic systems the decision was taken to specify Martin Audio OmniLine micro line arrays.
According to Marc Rovira, product manager at Adagio Pro, the Martin Audio distributor in Spain, given these challenging conditions, it was logical to propose a system with a large coverage control pattern, especially in the vertical plane, to achieve optimum intelligibility.
Thus two hangs of 24 OmniLine elements, with a 9.25-foot drop, have been flown on either side of the stage.
Rovira and the project manager of Adagio Pro, Bernat Camacho, knew that given the micro size of OmniLine, the array would provide a discreet solution. Each module measures just 9.6 x 4.5 x 7.8 inches and weighs just 9.9 lbs., with drivers and mechanical alignment techniques purpose designed by Martin Audio for this product.
Up to 32 modules can be interconnected and in many cases just one amplifier channel per array is required, while the system achieves high levels of SPL and delivers vertical accuracy.
However, in this instance the installers MEDIACOM 95 and GMI preferred to divide each column of the array into three zones or channels of amplification to produce a higher level of control in the audience. Processing was carried out in a Martin Audio DX2 4 in/8 out DSP environment, which manages the different levels and equalization of each column.
Camacho supported the installation every step of the way, initially presenting a 2D model using OmniLine’s own software, before constructing a 3D visualization using EASE software, in order to study the coverage throughout the room and the predicted levels of intelligibility.
The full integration of the audiovisual systems was implemented by MEDIACOM 95 and GMI with the final tuning and commissioning carried out with the engineering team of Adagio Pro. The result is a loudspeaker solution of high quality, which is impressively discreet at the same time.
