The university concert hall is used for concerts of all musical genres as well as lectures
Germany - At the Department of Music (Institut für Musik – IfM) of the German Kassel University, prospective music teachers are being trained to teach at all kinds of schools. The department also has its own concert hall, which is used for concerts of all musical genres as well as lectures and examinations. Plain concrete walls and a high proportion of glass elements characterize the room - and place special demands on the sound system.
After a PA workshop with Rolf Dressler - probably Kassel's "longest-serving sound engineer" in 2018 - instructors and technical assistants were enthusiastic about the sound of his Alcons system which he set up in the IfM concert hall in addition to the house system.
"Whenever we switched back from the Alcons to the house system during Rolf's workshop, I kept thinking that our speakers had just been broken," says Roman Beilharz, a lecturer in the popular music department and the main person in charge of sound engineering. "It was striking: the house system didn't just sound worse in a direct listening comparison, it sounded downright broken! When switching back, the clear, punchy sound of the Alcons systems collapsed into a nasal, muffled mush. After that, it was clear which loudspeaker systems we wanted to install in the long overdue renewal of the hall's technical equipment."
Once the funds had been approved, the replacement of the PA system was put out to tender throughout Europe in 2020. The bid from Dressler, an Alcons user from the very beginning, received the highest score in the evaluation process and was ultimately awarded the contract for purchase and installation of the new PA.
In February 2021 Dressler's company Voice Musikproduktion installed a sound reinforcement system consisting of two Alcons QR24 column array systems (l / r) and a centre cluster of three Alcons LR7 pro ribbon line array systems. Two BF151, 15'' subwoofers are used to provide bass support. The entire system is driven by an Alcons Sentinel10 Amplified Loudspeaker Controller. In addition to the main sound system, Voice Musikproduktion also supplied a new digital mixing console with digital outputs patched directly to the Sentinel.
"The aim of this installation was to generate a sound that would appeal to classical musicians as well as jazz, rock or pop musicians - after all, all genres of music are being taught at IfM," says Rolf Dressler. "But since the room is also used for lectures and talks, the new PA should also provide excellent speech intelligibility. The Alcons systems best met all of these criteria. This, combined with my experience with sound reinforcement in general and the Alcons systems in particular, was crucial for the customer.
“Even though the university is currently running in limited operation, everyone involved is very happy with the new sound experience in the concert hall."

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