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New d&b audiotechnik System Designed To Transform Listening Experience At Royal Albert Hall

Primary goal of in-house permanent system is delivery of a consistent result while expanding control over the audio experience at the venue.

A new sound reinforcement system headed by d&b audiotechnik components has been installed at London’s renowned Royal Albert Hall (RAH) and made its debut in support of The Olivier Awards, celebrating the finest performances in British theatre.

“Previously our control over the audio experience was limited and often didn’t meet our high standards,” explains Ollie Jeffery, HoD production and technical at the RAH. “What we wanted was to bring sound in-house with a properly implemented system and make it so good that the majority of productions would feel comfortable using it.

“Naturally everyone who has ever played here wants to get it right; some audio teams would spend five or six hours on the day taking speakers up and down, up and down, trying to achieve that end, but it was always a compromise,” Jeffery continues. “It wasn’t that our service providers were doing anything wrong, but we felt the difficult challenge of delivering world class audio within the extremely demanding geometry of the room could only be met with a different approach to the goal.”

The audio network runs over a DiGiCo Optocore fiber loop with redundant Dante network over Ethernet. Amplifier control is via the DS100; all amplifiers are d&b — a selection of the installation specific 10D and 30D, with the D20 and D80 touring amps for the V-Series loudspeakers and subwoofers. Monitors include M4 wedges, with E6 and E5 loudspeakers. Custom colored 4S loudspeakers deliver sound discreetly to all 140 boxes around the auditorium.

“The basic premise is that the room and the system is split vertically into three levels,” notes Steve Jones of the d&b audiotechnik application support team. “You could just put in a very long line array and cover the whole thing vertically, but you suffer, as many have discovered in the past, from overexciting parts of the room you don’t want to.

“Instead, through rigorous modeling and many rounds of finding out what was physically possible, we managed to secure the loudspeaker locations for all three sets; that allowed for coverage, imaging, level and control – to find a balance in the midst of what is a pretty intricate sound system,” he adds. “The separation of the three levels has worked so well that you can sit in the stalls mixing a show and barely notice if you mute the gallery and circle when the system is balanced in terms of level.

“Then to add the icing on the cake we use the d&b DS100 Signal engine, with its cross point delay ability, to separately matrix off the left, right and vocal channels to the front fills, circle and gallery, to give really incredible timing and clarity to all areas of the hall.”

Resident audio manager, Borneo Brown states: “The multiple aspects of the final design solution, the way the vertical separation of the audience areas are properly addressed, and the way all the boxes have been included in that plan, means that since the system has been commissioned, and whatever the demand of program material placed upon it, we have been able to tailor to every differing need. The DS100 matrix is a critical tool and the multiple scenarios Steve Jones has anticipated and programmed into it is a key factor.”

For touring production managers and sound crews, the logistical headache of reconfiguring touring audio arena systems for the idiosyncrasies of the RAH is now a thing of the past with the implementation of the new system.

“The Royal Albert Hall is more than a venue,” says Amnon Harman, CEO, d&b audiotechnik. “It is an iconic destination that has played a significant role in producing cultural enlightenment for its audiences since 1871. Be the program classical, contemporary or sports, the RAH is an inspirational stage for the world’s most influential artists and their audiences. d&b is honored to have been chosen by the Royal Albert Hall to provide a compete sound solution to elevate their customer experience to the highest level and empower their business forward.”

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