Two new WWII-themed exhibition spaces at the UK’s Dover Castle – titled ‘the Battle of France’ and ‘Operation Dynamo – Rescue from Dunkirk’ – feature Meyer Sound miniature loudspeakers.
The sound solution for the spaces – which are part of a larger exhibition, the Secret Wartime Tunnels – needed to carry highly intelligible voice tracks against a backdrop of convincing battle sounds.
Anders Jørgensen from the Danish firm Stouenborg was enlisted to devise the audio solution. For the Operation Dynamo exhibit, he opted for 23 Meyer Sound MM-4XP self-powered miniature loudspeakers, bolstered by low-frequency effects from four MM-10 miniature subwoofers.
“The MM-4XPs are perfect because they provide extremely high sound pressure levels, yet we can fit them right where needed without trouble from the conservation team,” said Jørgensen.
In a smaller space, the Battle of France exhibit employs six MM-4XP loudspeakers and a single MM-10 subwoofer to create both direct sound from the centre video presentation table as well as battle sound as ambience.
“With both of these spaces, it would have been impossible to do the job at this level without the MM-4XP and MM-10,” states Jørgensen. “The clarity and depth they provide for the mix are exceptional.”
The team contracted for The Secret Wartime Tunnels also included UK-based AV integrator Electrosonic and video producer HOMERUN. Architectural lighting and design were handled by COWI and Light Bureau.
Dover Castle and Secret Wartime Tunnels are administered by English Heritage, an organization charged with the preservation of, and enabling public access to, more than 400 historic sites in the UK.
