The University of Manchester trusts EM Acoustics with its sound

The Martin Harris Music and Theater Center of this English university now has a modern audio system of EM Acoustics, consisting of the speakers of the Halo-C and R8 models, according to the project Stage Electrics.

With two different scenic spaces: the concert hall Cosmo Rodewald and the theater studio John Thaw, the so-called Martin Harris centre for music & drama of the University of Manchester It is the core of the educational and artistic programs of this English institution, who have now updated their AV systems to respond to the new needs of teaching and interpretation.

The project, directed by Stage Electrics, audiovisual partner of this university for more than two decades, in collaboration with the British speaker manufacturer EM Acoustics, has consisted of integrating high quality audio systems, adapted to each of these spaces, to improve the sound experience of students, teachers, visiting artists and public.

“We needed a solution that would free up space in both spaces and improve the efficiency of our technical operations,” he explains. Karl Spencer, technical and buildings director of the center Martin Harris-. Many of the courses are both video and audio based, so we wanted to improve the quality to offer students and teachers an optimal experience. EM Acoustics products have never let us down and have always worked perfectly, as well as appreciating that it is a British company, because we like to support national companies”.

The room Cosmo Rodewald It mainly hosts classical music concerts, comic readings and performances. One of the main challenges was to achieve uniform acoustic coverage throughout the space without interfering with its aesthetics, for which Greg Clarke, brand manager by EM Acoustics, designed a sound system composed of eight Halo-C line array speakers, hung left and right as main PA, supported by two models R8 at stage level, together with two subwoofers S-15 for low frequencies.

“The compact design of the Halo-C line array and point source systems fit perfectly into these spaces,” he says. Karl Formstone, Senior Project Manager at Stage Electrics-. Provide powerful sound reinforcement, while integrating perfectly into the aesthetics of the place, maintaining both form and function”.

For your part, the studio theater John Thaw serves as both a teaching and conference space, presentations, etc; although it worked well, It also required a new system of surround and multifunctional sound, as well as video projection to use it as a movie room.

The technical teams at Stage Electrics and EM Acoustics opted to install a distributed point source loudspeakers, with amplification and processing, consisting of seven sets of R8 speakers (in the right area, left and center); sweet EMS-51X for cinema-quality surround sound and two S-15 subwoofers.

As Formstone adds, “designing a sound system for a space that serves as both a teaching area and a cinema required a very adaptable solution. The distributed point source system allowed us to create a truly immersive audio environment, maintaining the versatility necessary for various configurations, where the Halo-C line arrays fit perfectly”.

The audio system is integrated into the internal control of Symetrix through several touch screens. Preset configurations allow spaces to be adapted to different use cases with just a few taps, easy to use for teachers and students.

“Thanks to Stage Electrics and EM Acoustics our students now have access to state-of-the-art facilities and we have significantly improved our operations, since a large part of the courses depend heavily on technology. Students enjoy a higher quality experience, and our teaching and support teams can focus on their work, spend a lot of time configuring”, concludes Karl Spencer.