Sennheiser’s Spectera wideband ecosystem has been deployed for performances of ‘Jesus Christ Superstar‘ at hangar 4 in the former Tempelhof Airport, Berlin. The Komische Oper Berlin staged the rock oratorio over 14 evenings with hundreds of performers, an orchestra, a rock band and a large choir.
The system comprised two Spectera Base Stations, 32 SEK bodypacks and eight DAD antennas. The company says the aircraft hangar presented challenges for PA equipment due to metal doors, metal ceilings and steel girders.
During the performances in September and October this year, 27 of the 32 Sennheiser Spectera SEK bodypacks were used in dual function as transmitter and receiver. The nine main actors and 18 ensemble members used the bidirectional operation, with two additional SEK bodypacks serving as in-ear solutions at the monitoring console.
Each of the two Spectera Base Stations used two 8MHz wide TV channels in the UHF range, corresponding to an overall bandwidth of 32MHz. The compact 19in mainframes were integrated via MADI into the PA system, which operated in a fibre optic ring with 24-bit word width and 96kHz sampling rate.
Eight Spectera DAD antennas were distributed throughout Hangar 4 and connected to the two base stations using Cat cables. The company says Spectera does not require conventional coaxial cables and eliminates the need for combiners, splitters and boosters.
Sound equipment was provided by Neumann & Müller, with Spectera systems rented from FREAKSOUND. The string section of the orchestra and saxophone were miked using Neumann MCM systems, with Neumann KM 184 small diaphragm condenser microphones used as overheads and for percussion instruments.
Holger Schwark, sound engineer, said: “There are two main reasons why Sennheiser Spectera systems were the preferred choice for ‘Jesus Christ Superstar‘. First of all, Spectera is remarkably unaffected by interference that usually occurs in such demanding environments with lots of RF reflection. Secondly, the performers enjoy the high level of wearing comfort that it offers, as they only need a single beltpack instead of the usual two devices.”
The SEK bodypacks are designed to function simultaneously as a bodypack transmitter and an in-ear receiver. Schwark said the system’s innovative transmission principle meant RF reflections, which are typically problematic, became beneficial in the hangar environment.
Simon Böttler, permanent sound engineer at the Komische Oper Berlin, added: “I didn’t have the opportunity before ‘Jesus Christ Superstar‘ to gain any practical experience with the Spectera system. But I can now confirm that this relatively new system works absolutely perfectly for us. I haven’t noticed any drop-outs or interference of any kind at the FOH console.”
