MEYER SOUND: BRINGING VEGAS TO EUROPE
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Photo credits: 1 Plakat-Motiv Qi - eine Palast-Phantasie |
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"When we were planning this upgrade we had tenders out with three different systems. We had the systems for three months each, and after that time, all the crew and I concluded that it had to be a M'elodie system.... Consistently I find that Meyer's products provide that extra clarity, especially when speech is an important application of the house."
- Franz-Josef Münzebrock |
With the regeneration of a united Berlin almost complete, Meyer Sound's M'elodie line array loudspeakers are taking center-, left-, and right-stage at the Friedrichstadtpalast, one of Berlin's key theatres.
The Friedrichstadtpalast lies just beyond the old Checkpoint Charlie where East once confronted West in Germany, but today stands as a high-tech marvel in a city brimming with innovation. Boasting the largest indoor stage in the world, at 2,542 square meters, the Palast was conceived as a technical tour-de-force from its outset in 1984, featuring staging and rigging intricacies capable of hosting the most outlandish and ambitious productions.
"This theatre was very famous in the time of the DDR (Deutsche Demokratische Republik/ German Democratic Republic)," reveals Technical Director Franz-Josef Münzebrock. "In those days it hosted revues, big-band performances, and TV variety shows. It's now a privately owned theatre company, not run by the city of Berlin, but the program is essentially the same. It attracts a mixture of both locals and tourist groups, and the dance company resident here is one of the main draws."
The current revue, a Las Vegas-inspired spectacular entitled Qi: A Palace Fantasy, takes full advantage of the theatre's huge sets, ice rink, swimming pool, trapeze wires, and screens, as well as the recently upgraded lighting, LED, laser, and audio technology that places the Friedrichstadtpalast among Europe's most comprehensively equipped venues.
The Palast had previously used other Meyer Sound loudspeakers prior to installing the M'elodie system. "When we were planning this upgrade we had tenders out with three different systems," says Münzebrock. "We had the systems for three months each, and after that time, all the crew and I concluded that it had to be a M'elodie system. Previously it was mostly MSL-4s in here, but I've also used many other brands. Consistently I find that Meyer's products provide that extra clarity, especially when speech is an important application of the house."
The newly installed audio system is based around Meyer Sound's M'elodie line array loudspeaker, CQ-1 and CQ-2 loudspeakers, and MM-4 miniature loudspeaker. The central line array is comprised of eight M'elodie loudspeakers, supported by three 700-HP subwoofers. The left and right hangs each consists of ten M'elodie loudspeakers, also underpinned by three 700-HP subwoofers on each side. A centre-left and a centre-right hang, used for the orchestral program, each uses six M'elodie loudspeakers. These two arrays provide greater stereo definition for live music across the venue, leading to a particularly smooth, linear response.
"The sheer size of the stage and auditorium demands an extremely wide dispersion," explains Michael Pohl, Meyer Sound's Technical Sales Support. "There's also a circular pre-stage that juts forward from the proscenium by about 16 - 17 meters, so there was a challenge to design a system to run properly in every situation. We did a lot of work with the matrix of the FOH StageTec AURUS consoles and within the PA system itself to apply the proper delay times."
The system is managed by Meyer Sound's Galileo loudspeaker management system with three of the six-input, 16-output Galileo 616 processors. The Galileo can be remotely controlled with a wireless tablet PC running the Compass control software. RMS remote monitoring system provides extensive system status and performance data for the operator at FOH.
"Our intention is to increase the number of visiting productions using our sound system over the next year," notes Münzebrock, "making full use of the obvious advantages of yet another of our Meyer Sound purchases—a SIM 3 audio analyzer. Once an engineer has used Meyer Sound, they never forget."
February, 2009
