Amadeus has become one of the premiere manufacturers of high-end sound reinforcement systems for live and installed sound throughout Europe and Asia, while also designing and installing studio monitors. The Chaillot National Theatre's new 3D sound system has already been used in the production of original contemporary dance productions featuring choreographers, dancers and actors including, Olivia Ruiz, Jean-Claude Gallotta, Carolyn Carlson, Aesoon Ahn, Antony Hamilton, José Montalvo, Thomas Lebrun, and Rocio Molina.
As the sound reinforcement system used in the Jean Vilar hall (1270 seats) was due to be replaced, Amadeus imagined a solution that would go beyond the limits of traditional technologies such as stereo, 5.1 multichannel format, or any conventional speaker system. The implemented solution uses the Wave Field Synthesis (WFS) technology. Like visual holograms, this 'holophonic' process captures or creates a sound stage by preserving spatial information: the distance and direction of the sound sources used.
"This technique allows to replicate the sound field's physical properties. Wherever they are in the theatre, the listener keeps a coherent perception of the sources' localization," explains Marc Piera, Chaillot National Theater's sound department manager.
"I personally consider that the systems using a single-dimension speaker network, like line arrays, are inept for sound reinforcement in most theatre buildings," adds Piera. "These systems were primarily designed for open field concerts, where the audience area is very wide and very deep, and most of the time, on a flat or lightly sloped ground. They create a uniform sound pressure field, but most often they degrade the sound image for most of the audience. The Jean Vilas hall's intrinsic technical, acoustical, physical and mechanical properties led us to prefer an original sound reinforcement system, based on a 'holophonic' concept. Listening conditions are thus identical for all spectators, wherever they are in the hall."
The Jean Vilar hall's bleachers are segmented in four sub-spaces, each of different dimensions, seat numbers and slopes. The bleacher's curvature is almost exponential, with 16°-, 23°-, 25°- and 35°-slopes. The control room sits 12 meters above the ground. The spectator area has a surface of 1122 sq. m (33m-deep, 34m-width).
Chaillot National Theatre technical manager, Denis Desanglois, says, "The Chaillot National Theatre is one of the five national French theatres. For a long time, it was an iconic 'theatre for the people' symbol, linked with famous names like Jean Vilar then Antoine Vitez. This place offers a large stage for dancers, with a viewing angle and a visibility on a par with their vitality. Our continuing mission is to develop and to support creation and diffusion of the works, and to foster their encounter with the widest audience possible."
A first line of passive coaxial loudspeakers has been integrated in the front edge of the stage (in a 12cm-deep, 18cm-high volume). These 24 loudspeakers, variants of Amadeus PMX 4 model, form a large-scale 'sound bar'; they are evenly distributed across 18m, with 75cm between each adjacent speaker. This first line seamlessly covers the first row of seats.
The second line of loudspeakers is made of 11 Amadeus UDX 15 active coaxial speakers, with remote bi-amplification. These loudspeakers are evenly spaced across 23.5m (identical spacing between each of them), and they are placed at 9m height. This line covers the first two thirds of the bleachers.
A third line is made of 11 Amadeus UDX 12 active coaxial speakers with remote bi-amplification. It is hung to the second technical bridge.. A fourth 'surround' line is made of six Amadeus UDX 12 active coaxial speakers, with remote bi-amplification. These are hung to the second technical bridge. A bass reinforcement system is set up on lateral first level technical bridges, on left and right-hand sides. It is made of six Amadeus MAESTRO subwoofers, each hosting two long-excursion speakers, loaded by a folded hyperbolic horn. Rear acoustic wave rejection is optimized via a specific baffle.
This sound system is completed with an SSL Live L300 digital mixing console, used with two Network I/O SB 8.8 (8 analog I/O each) and two Network I/O SB i16 (16 analog inputs each) Dante stageboxes. The SuperAnalogue technology used in these SSL-developed interfaces ensures clarity and precision.
Philippe Guerinet, director of international sales for SSL and SSL France manager, said, "We were impressed by the warm welcome received by our SSL Dante solutions in the live and broadcast sectors. With their Dante media networking technology, Audinate are clearly leaders now, with more than 350 manufacturers and more than 800 Dante-enabled products. Their approach is innovative, reliable and affordable in every aspect, the Chaillot National Theater install is an excellent illustration of this."
Severine Krouch, sound stage manager, concludes: "The design philosophy brought by these two famous brands, Amadeus and Solid State Logic, with their sonic signature and their prestigious pedigrees, allow us to work every day with studio monitoring-grade sound, extended to a very large scale, and to innovate with the sound at the very heart of the artistic creation."
(Jim Evans)
