TiMax provides a new musical experience for Antwerp nights

Studio South have purchased a processor TiMax SoundHub-S64 with MADI I/O for the shows offered in its semicircular auditorium. The first work in which this solution has been used was in an immersive production of The Bodyguard.

Studio South has transformed its entertainment offering with the acquisition of a processor TiMax SoundHub-S64 with E/S MADI. The semicircular auditorium in the shape of an amphitheater of this venue located in Antwerp (Belgium) hosts a wide variety of musical experiences, the first of which was an immersive production of The Bodyguard, made famous by the Whitney Houston film and its award-winning soundtrack.

The venue's sound designer and audio director, Erik Loots, had a great vision for the type of production the venue needed and the level of audio flexibility he wanted for shows like The Bodyguard.

“TiMax was essential. I needed it for its ability to handle both channel-based and object-based audio.. I've always been a big fan of TiMax and its flexibility when it comes to immersive applications., and how this show was completely mixed in immersion, It was the perfect tool for the job.”.

This solution provides the primary immersive engine for Studio Zuid's production program and facilitates spatial mixing of all multi-channel playback and localization of live vocals in the venue..

The content of the show The Bodyguard includes musical tracks recorded in immersion in the studios Galaxy by Wilfried Van Baelen, where the acoustics of the room are added to the different reverberations recorded in format Auro3D.

The versatility of TiMax, with its adaptive spatial rendering, was what made it the right choice for the venue's specific immersion challenges.. The dining room, with capacity for 550 diners, It was designed to closely follow the contours of the semicircular stage, So TiMax's ability to work effectively with a minimal speaker setup of virtually any brand and type was key..

With limited testing time and technology, The TiMax workflow was essential to achieve a quick setup and perfect mix of all the elements of the stage, surround sound and elements for a hybrid immersive environment based on objects and channels.

To adapt the large public area, different equipment has been installed. Coda Audio. There are three identical sets of eight speakers Coda N-Ray. The left and right pendants also feature subwoofer support from three N-Ray subwoofers flown in a reverse cardioid configuration, pointing 45 degrees out, and there are also outfills made up of six N-Ray cabinets.

Filling is provided by four Coda G712 stacked left and right, while eight teams have been located at the front of the stage Coda HOPS8 front filler supported by three other flown G712s also configured in L/C/R.

Thomas Coene he took care of the mixes with a table Digico SD7 Quantum, through which live vocals were combined with music playback from a redundant Cubase system of 128 canales.

a system Qlab redundant of 64 channels also handles sound effects playback using MIDI commands to recall scenes and snapshots to TiMax and the mixer. A plugin system was used Waves Multi-Rack for external reverbs, equalization and compression.

Difficult audio setup made simple thanks to the structure and workflow of the TiMax platform. As Erik explains, “be able to manually change the level and delay matrix between inputs and outputs, allowed me to manipulate set image definitions on the fly and dial in custom settings for the channel-based look of the show, It was a lifesaver., especially due to the limited production and rehearsal time we had”.