DiGiCo Brings Immersive Audio Flexibility to Minnesota Orchestra

Newly installed audio infrastructure includes consoles DiGiCo Quantum338, SD12 96 y SD11i, with three SD-Racks and two SD-Minis, in addition to the 4REA4 processor as a distribution center and DMI-Klang applied as a surround effect in the orchestra's streaming performances.

Orchestra Hall, headquarters of the award-winning Minnesota Orchestra (EU), It is a reference point inside and out.. Its modernist architectural design and wide glass façade aim to symbolically present classical music as more accessible to all audiences..

Its interior is an acoustic dream world: 114 large cubes on the ceiling of the auditorium and the back wall of the stage, forming a symmetrical pattern of 'falling rocks', act, along with the three balconies on top and along the sides of the main floor, as a mass broadcast system. The result is an exceptional listening experience for 2.089 people who occupy the seats.

That experience has been further improved with the installation of a suite of systems DiGiCo, creating a renewed audio infrastructure that includes a system Quantum3 as a living room console; and SD12 96 used to mix orchestral and other performances for Minnesota Public Radio broadcasts, and a SD11i as auxiliary mixer as needed.

The consoles are supported by three SD-Racks that are on both sides of the stage, in addition to two SD-MiNi Racks, one of which is located in the attic of the concert hall and which is used to mix hanging audience microphones.

Together, SD-Racks make microphone preamps 32 bits are available virtually anywhere in the room. A processor is also used DiGiCo 4REA4 para distribuir el audio en hasta cuatro espacios de la instalación para eventos personalizables, like the lobby.

Another novelty is the application of a mixing system in-ear immersive DMI Sound in a unique way, as it provides surround sound for orchestral broadcasts for listeners wearing headphones or earphones.

Other components include a Orange Box, used as an interface for MADI for Quantum3, and two interfaces DiGiGrid MGB that connect this system to a network SoundGrid, as well as the Reaper software used for recordings at a resolution of 96 kHz.

As pointed out Jay Perlman, Minnesota Orchestra audio engineer, who designed the new infrastructure in collaboration with the local AV systems integrator Audio Logic Systems and the supplier of the installed audio products, “we have a lot of DiGiCo equipment, but each one does a specific job and together they form a truly unique audio infrastructure. The goal was to access high-resolution audio anywhere in the building.”.

One of the elements highlighted by Perlman focuses on the application of the DMI-Klang processor to transmissions, “We like to take risks and experiment, but it really creates something special. We used Klang in a live streaming pilot episode and found that it gives us great flexibility for future VIP content. What all this DiGiCo technology has done is give us the power to solve problems and make new things happen. Altogether it is a unique and integrated solution, intuitive and perfect”.

To Joel Mooney, technical director of the Minnesota Orchestra, Having this infrastructure and components creates a DiGiCo ecosystem that increases the operational flexibility of the facility by an order of magnitude.

“Before we had all analog systems for audio, no way to connect different parts of the building for sound, and it was also a group of different brands that were not designed to work together - remember -. Now everything is fully integrated and on an Optocore fiber network. The concert hall can be connected to the lobby and the broadcast center. “It is a much better operating environment.”.