News & Press Releases

New Sound for Germany’s Theatre of the Year

The Deutsche Theater in Berlin stars with a new AURUS control room

Berlin, June 2009: Actor and Actress of the Year, Production of the Year, Scene of the Year, and finally Theatre of the Year 2008 — Germany's top award winning theatre is located in Berlin — the Deutsche Theater. This multi-award-winning theatre was recently equipped with a state of the art audio system from the SALZBRENNER STAGETEC MEDIAGROUP, installed during the complete redevelopment of the auditorium. Since 1995 the theatre has been equipped with an extensive NEXUS network including a CANTUS console and therefore, for the core of the new audio-control room, it opted for an upgrade of the proven NEXUS plus an AURUS console. At the end of February 2009, the MEDIAGROUP, which as a general contractor was in charge of the entire audio and video installation, delivered a ready-to-use house to the theatre management.

“Our aim was a state-of-the-art audio-installation capable of handling productions of any size,” says Marek Sawitza, head of audio at Deutsche Theater. “In this regard, the co-operation with SALZBRENNER STAGETEC MEDIAGROUP was ideal since we could integrate the new AURUS and NEXUS components seamlessly with the existing system, which after all has been in use since 1995—at reasonable cost and without any compromise regarding quality and reliability.”

The core of the new audio control facility is a 48-fader AURUS equipped with four RMD DSP boards which was relocated from the stalls to an open space inside the auditorium. Depending on the setup, this system supports a configuration of, for example, 128 input channels and 48 outputs; however, the Deutsche Theater has implemented a base set up with 60 input channels, 24 studio groups, and 64 aux channels. The existing NEXUS audio network, consisting of nine Base Devices with 220 analogue I/Os, was supplemented with two more Base Devices and a NEXUS STAR core router, which also accommodates the AURUS DSP and optical-interface boards. This NEXUS configuration now offers an awesome pool of 348 analogue and 1,300 digital I/Os. The backbone of the audio infrastructure is a fibre optic network, which makes almost any place in the house accessible - including the stage and the stalls. Marek Sawitza: “To us, utmost flexibility was one of the key requirements in order to meet the demands of creative production ideas. The handy solution includes two mobile NEXUS units that can be placed virtually anywhere in the house. For example, when the producer needs a choir on stage, providing the required microphone inputs is mere child’s play.” At the same time, an intelligent cabling concept ensures campus-wide distribution of all signals. All junction boxes feature not only standard audio and video ports, but also multiple LWC and RJ45 ports with flexible format assignment. “In essence this allows for routing any format and signal to any location in the house,” says Sawitza.

The fact that the development of forthcoming productions could not be interrupted until completed was a major logistical challenge. For this reason, the AURUS desk was made available to Sawitza and his crew three months before the scheduled handover so that the forthcoming season’s productions could be prepared in the in-house audio studio. A few days before handover, the console simply had to be connected to the audio network prepared previously and was soon ready for use after minimum calibration. “Before we calibrated the system,” says Sawitza, “we conducted an acoustic simulation of the new auditorium using the EASE system. This allowed us to operate with an ideal acoustic picture right from the start—with just a few EQ adjustments. That made work much easier during the stressful time shortly before the reopening!”
 

AURUS and AURATUS: New Features for Live Use

STAGETEC presents software-release 3.6 for their renowned digital consoles at Showtech

Berlin, June 2009: AURUS and AURATUS from the SALZBRENNER STAGETEC MEDIAGROUP rank among the most successful digital consoles in broadcast, theatre, and live venues. At this year’s Showtech from June 16th to 18th in Berlin, Germany, the pro-audio-specialists will introduce the latest software release, 3.6, for these two masterpieces, which once again improves user-friendliness for sound-reinforcement applications in particular. Highlight of the release is a new AUX-to-fader, or mix-minus-to-fader, function that provides outstanding, fast and simple control over the monitor-mix thanks to integrated auto-solo functionality.

“The FOH engineer needs to check continuously whether the monitor-mixes for the individual musicians are well-balanced,” says Dr. Klaus Scholz, one of STAGETEC’s managing directors in Berlin. “The auto-solo function automatically routes the selected aux channel to the FOH monitor, if AUX-to-fader is enabled. The feature can of course be disabled if it is not required.”

The 3.6 release was in use for the first time during the opening ceremony of the high-profile Saar Music Festival on 9 May 2009. A compact 54-channel AURATUS was used for sound reinforcement when the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, conducted by Christoph Poppen, performed Bernstein's Kaddish Symphony at the “Alte Schmelz” industrial cathedral at St.Ingbert, Germany. A mobile NEXUS audio-network featuring a total of 76 inputs and 48 outputs to route all FOH signals had been installed. “This was a highly complex reinforcement task requiring considerable fine tuning of individual groups,” remembers Christian Fuchs, in charge of the mix on behalf of SALZBRENNER STAGETEC MEDIAGROUP. “In addition to the new functions provided by release 3.6, the spill function introduced last year was also very helpful. It provides instant access to every aux group at the press of a single button in order to tweak individual parameters,” explains Fuchs.
 

AURUS: New Convenient Features for Live Use

Acoustic measurements from the FOH position with EASERA SysTune integrated

Berlin, April 2009. STAGETEC, manufacturer of professional audio systems based in Berlin, Germany enhance the user friendliness of their AURUS digital mixing console in live applications: EASERA SysTune, a software application designed to analyse room frequency and impulse responses in realtime, will be on show as an integrated solution for AURUS systems at Prolight + Sound.

SysTune was developed by AFMG, a Berlin company specialising in acoustics software. The tool has been designed for sound-reinforcement applications and enables system tuning to be carried out in realtime and under live conditions, e.g., inside a crowded hall or during a concert rehearsal. SysTune constantly returns room frequency and impulse responses, enabling corrections to be made even during the show. The software was previously only available as a standalone application. Now, for the first time, it is available to AURUS customers as a seamless solution integrated into a mixing console. The necessary hardware components are hidden inside the AURUS, and all readings are made directly visible on the desk’s bright TFT screens. Any corrections necessary can be made conveniently from the FOH position using the SysTune interface acting on the integrated NEXUS audio network DSPs. Of course, if reference microphones are required, these are connected and their signals forwarded using the NEXUS. This reduces considerably the lengthy and expensive cabling of live productions. “AURUS is gaining more and more friends in live application fields such as musical theatres and multipurpose venues. SysTune provides clients who need to adapt to continuously-changing acoustical circumstances with a seamlessly integrated tool for measurement and tuning,” says Dr Klaus Scholz, managing director of STAGETEC.
 

Escape from the Acoustic Dilemma

SALZBRENNER STAGETEC MEDIAGROUP presents electroacoustic reverberation modelling for theatres and event venues /
Vivace as stand-alone application or fully integrated system for AURUS and NEXUS

Buttenheim, Germany, April 2009: The question? How to build an event venue with good acoustics for all kinds of performances and music styles, from lectures to drama, from chamber music to symphonic concerts? German pro-audio-specialist SALZBRENNER STAGETEC MEDIAGROUP has found a way out of this familiar dilemma for theatres and multi-purpose halls. The digital Vivace offers effective electroacoustic room-enhancement as either fully integrated solution for AURUS- and NEXUS-systems or as stand-alone application and allows for adapting room acoustics to any kind of performance from the FOH desk.

Vivace (Italian for “vivid”) hardware configuration consists of a number of ambience microphones acquiring the on-stage sound and forwarding it via the audio backbone to the Vivace system. The system realtime analyses and processes the input-signals, then reproduces the results on a large number of carefully positioned build-in speakers. All room-enhancement processing is performed using a intelligent convolution algorithm, which enables any acoustic space to be modelled with the highest accuracy attainable. E.g. missing reflections and reverb can be easily added to rooms that would otherwise be too small or too absorbent for a large orchestra to perform. As the first system on the market Vivace considers electroacoustics and room parameters together with psychoacoustics for modelling the perfect sound.

Offering unparalleled user-friendliness and further advantages Vivace is also available as a fully integrated solution for AURUS/NEXUS-systems. All input and output signals are forwarded via the NEXUS audio back-bone equipped with STAGETEC’s patented TrueMatch converters. At the touch of a button the Vivace interface is reproduced on the bright AURUS screens. In combination with the AURUS scene automation the door to new and fascinating illusions is opened, since the perceived acoustics can be changed for each and every single scene. Moving from a small hut to a large ballroom? A walk in the park for AURUS and Vivace!