
Nationaltheater Mannheim has selected an Alcons Audio line array system to deliver a high-quality, natural sound response. The new loudspeaker equipment was specified after a six-brand shootout that saw Alcons emerge as “the clear overall winner. The system is in complete harmony with our room,” remarked Nationaltheater Mannheim sound chief Christian Stader.
Stader was made aware of Alcons Audio technology by friends at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg, and arranged for the brand’s participation in a system shootout after speaking to Carsten Albrecht, technical sales manager for Alcons Germany. The system specified for the 1,156-seat Vier-Sparten-Theater opera house will be employed for a wide variety of musical productions, and comprises 12 LR14s, six LR7s, two BF302 double 15in subwoofers and two VR8 compact monitors. Power and control comes from four ALC2 amplified loudspeaker controllers and one ALC4 amplified loudspeaker controller.
The new set-up allows the sound team to overcome some of the venue’s historic coverage problems and is, noted Stader, “a pleasure to work with”. He also praised the co-operation with Alcons: “I rarely experienced a better support. One feels taken care of in the best way with Alcons.”
Albrecht himself told IE: “Although not the first time we have received praise for the Alcons system’s quality, it’s always good to get this kind of feedback from the client. It’s the reason why we’re doing what we’re doing. The Alcons systems are developed with versatility in mind, hence the neutral sound response, which fits the Nationaltheater’s needs very well. Besides, it’s a very nice cooperation that we have with the Mannheimer crew.”