Helsinki's Musikkitalo turns to Yamaha's digital mixing consoles

The majestic and ultra-modern Musikkitalo architectural complex (Helsinki Music Centre), which houses the Helsinki Philharmonic and Finnish Radio and Television Symphony Orchestras, has upgraded its audio equipment with Yamaha's DME series digital mixing systems.

DME Series Digital Mixing Consoles Yamaha are a fundamental pillar of the Helsinki Music Centre (Finland), equipped with one of the most technically advanced facilities in Europe. DME Series Aligns with State-of-the-Art Amplification Systems, as is the case with Yamaha's Tn and Txn series, that combine the advanced technology and reliability of the Japanese brand. With digital networks offering a range of new opportunities for venues, DME Series Enables Unprecedented Flexibility.

As the headquarters of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Sibelius Academy, the Helsinki Music Centre has taken advantage of the best time to move from ideas to reality, Although the long gestation period has allowed him to build this project using state-of-the-art sound technology. A Dante audio network has been installed throughout the venue, This includes a main concert hall with capacity for 1.700 people, Five other concert halls, Rehearsal rooms, Dedicated recording studios, Broadcast facilities, a number of dressing room areas and the usual utility areas and passage areas. A minimum number of seven Yamaha DME64N and three DME24N was specified to address the building's complex audio routing needs.

Ari Lepoluoto, Head of the Audiovisual Department of Akukon Ltd, The company that was responsible for the supervision of the entire technical part of the project, has indicated: "The Helsinki Music Centre is a very complex building and needs a lot of different routing systems and audio submixes.. DMEs are used as a decentralized audio routing system and combination matrix with audio processing functions. Power sound reinforcement systems, Induction loops and lobby speaker systems, control audio cross-feedback between different rooms, feed audio from music rooms to artists' dressing rooms, Etc. likewise, They send audio from the concert halls to the recording studios of the venue and feed the broadcast systems".

"Each performance room can also be used as an auditorium for smaller presentations., for teaching, Etc. In this case, There are no sound or lighting technicians, Reason why all audiovisual functions – sound, lighting, Screens or projectors – controlled by touch screens of centralized device control systems. In this case, DMEs are also controlled by touch screens", Lepoluoto continues.

ICP1 Panels

There are a number of Yamaha ICP1 intelligent control panels permanently installed in the equipment racks that are used to select pre-configured operating modes in situations where touch screens are not used to control all AV functions. "See also, In recording sessions, it may be necessary to mute certain areas of induction loops due to interference that can occur between electrical instruments and loops. ICP1 panels allow this task to be accomplished quickly and easily.", says Lepoluoto.

The DME units were supplied by Yamaha's Finnish distributor F-Musikki to the project's three audio system installers, Starlike, Hedcom and Audico, following a competitive bidding process, It is currently the obligatory method for obtaining a public contract at EU level.

Ari Lepoluoto explained: "We looked at all the options and the DME units met all the requirements we demanded. The most important requirements for DSP/matrix systems were flexibility and compatibility with various audio network protocols. likewise, high quality analog sound I/O was essential, as well as the ability to manage many inputs and outputs. The DME system met these requirements perfectly. The Helsinki Music Center team is very satisfied with the performance of the system.".