d&b audiotechnik provides quality audio to festivals in Norway's Thomsø

Manufacturer's audio technology&b audiotechnik has been chosen to hold events and concerts in the Norwegian city of Tromsø, one of the most active and recognized festival celebrations in this area close to the Arctic Circle.

Located to 350 Km. north of the Arctic Circle, The Norwegian city of Tromsø never ceases to surprise its visitors as one of the privileged places to contemplate the Northern Lights., which has turned it into a center of dynamic cultural activity for a population of more than 70.000 personas, with some 10.000 students.

This cultural activity includes the holding of events and concerts., as explains Tronnd Mikalsen, technical director of Audionor AS, a renowned provider of complete solutions for almost all types of live events in this area of ​​Norway: “There are quite a few live performances in Tromsø, many more than one can imagine. Plus two big outdoor festivals in summer, Tromsø attracts big names from across the artistic spectrum; The Tromsø International Film Festival is also held, the Northern Lights Festival, featuring a multitude of classical music artists, jazz, folk and contemporary; as well as the Arctic Frontiers, a series of lectures on the Arctic and climate-related issues. With all this, Needless to say, January is our busiest month of the year.”.

This company, which began its activity in 1995 from a sound rental company to currently becoming a comprehensive solutions provider, recently decided to replace its old sound system with a more flexible one, reliable and of a quality to respond to so many events and spectators.

Selecting the audio provider, lighting and stage equipment that met these requirements was d&b audiotechnik. As Mikalsen points out “we already knew the J Series of d&b audiotechnik for a long time; first by reviews in the sector press and, after, because we knew who was using the system, that's why we were sure that we were definitely interested. After getting more information about her, like the size, the weight, the amplifiers, etc., We were increasingly convinced that the J Series was perfect. When it began to appear literally in all the technical specifications of the international bands that visit us, We saw that it was our best option”.

For this reason they contacted Drammen Lyd, distributor of d&b audiotechnik in Norway, whose general director, Rasmus Eide, remember: “Audionor is a highly respected company in the sector and has one of the best sound engineers in Norway. “We were able to offer Audionor a brand new sixteen J Series cabinet system that fit their budget.”.

At Audinor they had a fairly precise idea of ​​the specification they needed., and that it was suitable for rock performances for an audience of about 5.000 personas.

“In that configuration, As with hanging arrangements the weight is only 500 Kg per side -Mikalsen points out-, The J Series is the most efficient line array system available. I initially contacted Rasmus to explain our plans to look into a second-hand system.. But, when we saw the budgets, We found that purchasing a new system was just as cost-effective and we have a five-year warranty.&b audiotechnik on all speaker components”.

The J Series system arrived at Audionor just in time for the Bukta Festival, a rock event held every summer in Tromsø for three days, with international artists, and receives some 15.000 visitors. "Obviously, The festival was going to be like the baptism of fire for the system: would it be big enough? Could we configure it correctly for performances like these?”, recalled Mikalsen.

The litmus test was passed with flying colors with d's ArrayCalc software.&b “even before the boxes arrived in Tromsø. At the venue everything was ready in less time than with our previous system. Everyone who uses it for the first time is very impressed with the power and clarity of the speakers. We really like the remote control feature of the amplifier and the ability to monitor system performance in real time. We hope to be able to add more boxes to the J Series system in the future and will also consider purchasing a d monitor system.&b audiotechnik”.