Aalmarkt Hall is a raked auditorium with huge side windows along the stage right wall overlooking a tree-lined canal.
Here, four IC Live loudspeakers were deployed – one on either side for the lower auditorium and another on either side for the balconies.
These were finished by Renkus-Heinz in a custom metallic gold color that blends them into the aesthetics of the room.
A final piece of the puzzle is RHAON (Renkus-Heinz Audio Operations Network), which combines CobraNet digital audio distribution and networked system control and supervision on Cat-5.
Presets on a MediaMatrix NION nX DSP allow the balcony loudspeakers of both systems to be turned off when not needed, and also to optimize them for speech or music applications.
McPherson Opera House
This venue originally opened in 1888 in the small town of McPherson, Kansas, hosting everything from Vaudeville shows and films from the golden age of cinema to political rallies.
It was saved from destruction in the mid 1980s and recently underwent a refurbishment that was virtually a complete rebuild, with approximately 550 seats distributed on main and two balcony levels.
The final phase was the design and installation of a new sound reinforcement system by Sounds Great Music, working with the McPherson Opera House Preservation Company.
“They wanted a system that performers would find not only adequate, but impressive,” notes Michael Dunn of Sounds Great Music (also located in McPherson), a system that would provide not only good, natural sound, but achieve a look in keeping with the buildings’ roots and legacy.
The initial concept was based upon conventional line arrays, but the inherent bulk and significant architectural impact led to another option, in the form of Tannoy digitally steerable QFlex arrays.
“We also looked at the lines of sight and the 3D models of the architect and realized that more than half of the audience would not be covered by the traditional line array concept, and so would have to be covered by additional under balcony fills,” Dunn adds.
Sounds Great Music installed one QFlex 32 on either side of the proscenium to cover the main floor and first balcony, while another pair of QFlex 24s – mounted above the proscenium arch – cover the second balcony.
Additional low-frequency support is supplied by two Tannoy Power VS 15BP subwoofers flown from the second floor of the Juliet balconies to either side of the stage.
The QFlex arrays are equipped with Tannoy digital audio input cards and digital audio break-in boxes, while input is AES 110 digital audio. Also of note, this project marks the first full digital installation of QFlex in North America.
“Aesthetics were critical; equally as important as the desire for good, natural sound,” Dunn concludes. “In the end, QFlex made for both far less visual clutter as well as substantial gains in terms of coverage and overall clarity.”