The Svenska Teaten (Swedish Theatre), Helsinki, Finland, which burnt to the ground just three years after its opening in 1863 but was quickly rebuilt in 1866, has recently been installed with a new PA system centred on d&b’s T-Series. Occupying a central site in the city, the theatre looks unchanged externally, epitomising the theatre’s commitment to its historical preservation. Finnish consultancy firm Akukon was enlisted to design the new audio solution with system designer, Tapio Ilomaki leading the project. The technical install had to sustain the values embedded in the venue, balancing the old and the new with the team under guidence from a conservationist architect. “The main theatre is a complex room acoustically,” explained Oskar Sjöberg, department for light, sound and pyrotechnics at the Swedicsh Theatre. “We knew we needed a system with the very precise targeting that d&b is renowned for. We looked originally at using Ci60s but when we heard d&b audiotechnik were about to launch the T-Series it seemed obvious to have a big rethink.” Helsinki-based Msonic via entertainment integrators Hedcom provided the d&b system while the installation design was mostly the work of Andreas Lönqvist the theatre’s head of sound, with input from d&b and overseen by audio consultant Timo Liski from Sound Solutions. In total 130 d&b loudspeakers were installed throughout all the theatre spaces, all driven from 50 D6 and D12 amplifiers. “We used mainly T-Series cabinets in the auditorium,” Sjöberg continued. “We have twenty channels of sound feed, just the left/right system uses twelve; we have three balconies so the vertical spread is great, and the shadow beneath each balcony is deep and requires very accurate and clearly defined coverage. There is also lots of surround and effects, and fill for the boxes. One hundred and thirty loudspeakers and the architect had an issue with almost every placement,” “In addition to the six hundred seat capacity auditorium, the theatre also boasts a small studio theatre and a rehearsal room all of which have been included in the refit,” finished Sjöberg. “Sound wise I believe we are the most technically equipped theatre in Finland.” www.dbaudio.comwww.msonic.fiwww.akukon.com
