Opened in early 2009, the resort nestles serenely into its mountain setting 800m above sea level, taking its visual design cues from the local nature and wildlife. Including 244 hotel rooms plus a further 161 apartments, the resort offers a luxurious range of facilities including an indoor climbing wall, ice rink, ski in-out, spa, pool and restaurant. The resort also leads the way in their use of renewable and environmentally friendly bio-energy sources which provide almost all the power necessary for heating.
The resort also features a modern conference and entertainment complex, into which Outline's Norwegian partner EHS Proshop AS has recently installed a sound reinforcement system utilising a range of Outline loudspeaker, amplification and processing products.
EHS's Frode Trondahl reports, "The principal issue for our design at Norefjell was that the system should be capable of dealing equally well with the daily needs of conference operators and those of live performances, using supplementary equipment if necessary. So the main L-R system comprises six Outline Mantas per side, with a single Outline DBS 18-2 flown behind the main array to keep it out of sight.
"The only other loudspeakers in a fairly big room are four Outline Eidos X123W units we placed to act as delays for the gallery, but the coverage is superb."
He continues, 'We specified Outline T and M series amplifiers throughout, controlled by four of Outline's new iP24 processors which give us the additional outputs we need when our hire division supplies extra equipment for live performances. I have to say that this new processor is incredibly impressive and using it to create the EQ and control necessary for this system was so easy, especially using Outline's iPad app which is very intuitive and precise.
"Over the years I have used DSP system processors from every major manufacturer but nothing comes close to the quality and precision of the EQ in iP24. The new 'Warped FIR' filters really work, you can clearly hear the difference - in fact we have now decided that we will replace all the system processors in our rental stock with iP24s, they are that good."
The official opening of the hall included a performance by Norwegian pop star Maria Mena. Trondhal adds, "Maria's technician gave us excellent feedback after the show - he thought the system sounded very nice, with even coverage, and that it was well tuned for the venue. It was really nice to hear a very good FOH engineer endorse our work there, having used it for real."
(Jim Evans)
