Home to nearly 1,500 residents, the pastoral municipality of Messen in north-western Switzerland is also home to Reformierte Pfarrkirche – a church whose foundation was laid before the year 1000 A.D. and whose current walls have been standing since 1480. The church was recently subject to an AV system upgrade, which included an open-architecture Symetrix Solus 8 processor.
Integrator Pro Sound from Beschallungstechnik was charged with the installation. After consulting with Symetix’s Swiss distributor GoWild AG, it was decided that the Solus 8 processor would be incorporated into the open architechture rather than the intial spec for a Symetrix Jupiter solution, due the need for additional media in the form of a projector.
“Three microphones and two line sources would have been a simple task for a Symetrix Jupiter 8,” commented Harry Horlacher, pro audio sales manager with GoWild AGhe. “It could have easily handled automixing for the microphones, loudspeaker conditioning, and processing for a record output. Users could control the system from a Symetrix ARC-2e wall panel remote, which would return all volumes to their default levels on power-up.”
The Solus 8 solution is capable of controlling a Sanyo PLC-WM4500 video projector’s input source, lens function, and standby mode together with a separate user interface. This reduced the hardware that would have been necessary with the Jupiter alternative, and helped the project keep within budget. All of the projector functions are addressable via RS-232 commands, while external control inputs on the processor inputs send automatic shutdown commands to the projector so that when the master switch is turned off, a Furman power conditioner powers down the Solus 8. In addition, it cuts the mains to the projector after a long delay for cool down. The next day, the system sequences up appropriately, and the Solus 8 loads all the default levels and states.
Elsewhere, a Symetrix ARC-2e provides the users with intuitive control over microphone and line volumes, projector power, and projector inputs. This is all possible from a one-rack space Solus unit.
Processing with the Symetrix Solus 8 delivers predictably uniform, intelligible audio from myriad sources. For example, the output levels from media played on the Denon DVD/CD player vary substantially. “The Symetrix AGC-leveler module ensure that all media play back at a consistent volume,” finished Horlacher. “In addition, the feedback-fighter modules provide additional security and headroom on the microphone inputs.” The Solus 8 also protects the Kling & Freitag loudspeakers with limiters. He also noted that the Symetrix Solus 8 still has plenty of processing power to spare in case the church decides to add a subwoofer or additional loudspeakers in the future.
