Historic Czech theatre adds second Eclipse GT to their new audio setup
November 2012
Just under a year ago, Innovason announced a significant audio system upgrade for one of the Czech Republic’s most historic cultural landmarks, the beautiful J.K. Tyl theatre in the city of Plzen (Pilsen). Built in 1902, the impressive building honours the city’s outstanding theatre tradition, which is second only to that of the capital, Prague. Last year saw the installation of a brand new Innovason Eclipse GT digital mixing console at the heart of a sophisticated and fully scalable EtherSound digital audio network, all supplied and installed by Innovason distributor and entertainment solutions provider MusicData. Less than twelve months later, MusicData, were back to install a second Innovason Eclipse GT.
The first Eclipse was installed in the control room. The second occupies what has been designated the “Live Post” position – in other words, a traditional FoH position at the back of the auditorium. According to MUSICDATA’s Tomas Ourednicek, the time had come to upgrade the old analog technology currently at the FOH position to bring it into line with the increasing demands of musical productions. “Investing in a second Innovason Eclipse GT was a logical step,” he noted.
The new FoH Eclipse GT controls and transmits audio to and from of seven possible locations in the theatre complex, including of course to the main PA and monitor systems via the highly sophisticated EtherSound network (over a combination of CAT5 cable and optical fiber) installed last year. This means that sound engineers can mix from the position best adapted to the requirements of the show, and on an identical console.
In addition to the new console, the EtherSound network has also been expanded with a number of new devices including additional Innovason SR-16 16-in/16-out stage boxes; the M.A.R.S. multitrack recording option on the Eclipse; and AuviTran’s Audio ToolBox rackmount modular audio platform for audio network management. This brings the total amount of networked EtherSound equipment in the theatre up to a staggering 19 devices!
The result is a network solution that is so flexible, you can record any signal from any of the stageboxes in real time in the recording studio that is connected to the network. The studio – which also boasts a playback computer – can also add streams to the network, including to either or both Eclipse consoles, also capable of recording up to 64 channels of high quality audio, or directly to the monitored lines or indeed into the main PA system. In short, all inputs and outputs are available for all of the computers on the network. Finally, the sound engineers also use M.A.R.S. for Virtual Soundchecking.
The Innovason SR-16 stageboxes ensure premium sound quality throughout. “The SR-16s use high quality A/D converters to convert the analog signal into 48kHz/24-bit AES/EBU which is sent straight to the processor of the PA system, thus avoiding any useless conversion back to analog,” explained Ourednicek.
Chief sound engineer Peter Šolc appreciates the flexibility of the whole system and the features of Eclipse GT. “We know Eclipse very well now, and my colleagues and I play on all its advantages,” he said. “We really enjoy the “Total Recall” function which enables us to have different fader set-ups for each scene that can be recalled at the touch of a button, and very easily changed within scenes or globally if necessary. The console is also well laid out and the sound quality is of an extremely high standard. But best of all is the Virtual Soundcheck function which enables us to prepare the mix in extraordinary detail without the musicians having to be there. We would never have dreamed that it was possible – it’s just fantastic!”
Picture:
Tomas Kucera (Theatre) - Tomas Ourednicek (MUSICDATA) - Peter Solc (Head Sound Engineer Theatre)
