Linex installed in prestigious Eurogress

Germany, February 2008

Eurogress Aachen is one of Germany’s most impressive international congress centres. As a part of a total renovation also the sound reinforcement system for the multiplex's main venue was upgraded to a Sound Projects Linex array system.

Eurogress Aachen is a multipurpose centre with some 26 halls and conference rooms - its location in Aachen, in the middle of the so-called 'Euro-triangle' is attractive to both clients and audiences from Germany, Holland and Belgium. The centre was built in 1977, but since 1997 the exploitation company Eurogress Aachen has invested an average 3 to 10 Million euros per year in the modernisation of the building which is owned by the city of Aachen. With some 300 events per year (congresses, trade fairs, concerts) Eurogress has a total capacity of 3500 people. Flagship venue is the 'Europa Saal', offering a capacity of 2500 (standing) or 1800 seated. The three way split stage has a continuous variable height and can be lowered down to floor level, to give place to an additional 200 more seats.

Axel Dresbach is Eurogress' technical manager and responsible for the upgrading of the Europa Saal - the venue hosts a huge mix of events (some 10 per month) from carnival shows, stand up comedy during the first two months of the year, congresses (February-June) and concerts towards the end of each year. "After the summer holiday, we tie in with touring schedules of international artists, alongside a number of classical concerts." explains Dresbach, "To facilitate classical concerts, the Europa Saal has a relative long reverb time especially in the low bass region. The shape of the venue measures 40 m deep by 30 m wide. This makes it not an easy place for amplified sound. A precisely controlled and coherent dispersion of the sound system is essential to cover the whole venue, including the under the balcony seats, without hitting the walls. This is where most systems in the Europa Saal failed, resulting in extra reverberation and reduced speech intelligibility and musical definition. Imperative qualities for congresses and modern music that depend heavily on amplification"

In search for a replacement of the existing D&B sound system with C4 and C7 cabinets, Dresbach commissioned the Aachen-based rental company TLAC to supply a system combining good dispersion with perfect speech intelligibility. "The system we rented several times during the last three years was a Sound Projects Linex array," recalls Dresbach, "and that's what inspired us to go ahead with Sound Projects for the refurbishment of the installation at the Europa Saal." Sound Projects supplied a number of different configurations for tests in the Europa Saal with various events to determine the optimal layout and the number and type of cabinets to be used. "Our final choice was the combination of eight Linex array system speakers on each side with 12 SP18 subs," Dresbach explains. "In an attempt to reduce low end reverberation, Jan (Slooter, MD of Sound Projects) came with the idea to fly the subs as a centre cluster, and electronically adapt the shape of the subs by delaying the lower cabinets so that there is an angle from the sub cabinets pointing down from the ceiling."

Apart from the flown configuration, the SP18 speakers can also be used in more traditional set ups like behind the line array speakers or on the floor in front of the stage. "This allows us to tailor the equipment to our clients' needs - when we have a congress or show with tables in the direct vicinity of the stage, the flying subs are the perfect solution." Dresbach enthuses.

The system is steered by a Yamaha DM 2000 digital console (72 in/60 out) which also serves as central distribution network for the whole congress building - equipped with extra analog/digital converters, the console fits the multifunctional aspect of the Eurogress. In the Europa venue, the stage has an integrated monitor system, that can also be used as front fill speakers. "For this purpose we are now testing the Sound Projects X-act monitors." adds Dresbach.

After a testing period, the new Sound Projects system recently became operational and is now rented with the venue, either as basic system (comprising the Linex array and console), with extras like (wireless) microphones, SP18 sub woofers, monitors, etc or as a package system. Dresbach claims that rental rates for the equipment are very attractive, together with the fact that the system is tailor made for the hall. "The in-house system is very often used; usually, touring productions have their own equipment along, but because the venue is a little particular they prefer the Linex system - bands are quite happy to see that we have a system that fits the room and its acoustics so perfectly. It's a big step forward because more and more productions make use of the system." 

More information on Eurogress at www.eurogress-aachen.de

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