Mumbai’s Vidyalankar Institute of Technology has expanded its campus with a auditorium space fitted with ceiling-mounted Tannoy loudspeakers and Lab.gruppen amplifiers.
The institute is situated in Wadala (East), a central suburb of Mumbai and has grown into one of the finest engineering teaching establishments in India stretching across over 45,000sqm with approximately 7,000 students.
“At Vidyalankar, we understand the needs of the students, and we go that extra mile to make sure that we fulfil them,” said Vishwas Deshpande, managing trustee of the Vidyalankar Dyanapeeth Trust.
The auditorium was built with both learning and social activities in mind. Deshpande added: “We encourage regular social and recreational activities in tandem with our academic timetables too. For this building, it was felt that what we really needed was a good auditorium that could be used for lectures, movie screenings, events and more. We wanted something that was attractive, simple to use and flexible enough to cope with a variety of events and end users.”
On the project’s process from conception to construction, Deshpande commented: “Initially we tried a few companies, and many different solutions were proposed, but it left everyone very confused as many of the proposals were over what had been budgeted for the project. Expectations were low by that point, but then we managed to find the right architect who understood our needs perfectly, which then led us to the just the right AV consultant, who understood our budgetary concerns as well as our need for a simple, reliable and flexible solution.”
The consultant they turned to was Hewshott, a leading AV and acoustic design consultancy firm in India and part of a global AV and acoustics consulting group, Hewshott International. To meet the brief within the budget, the consultant recommended using Tannoy within the design.
“We have known Tannoy as a brand for many years, so we were already familiar with the products,” said Hewshott AV consultant Abhijeet Khedkar. “We selected Tannoy for this installation because we knew the quality and reliability of the loudspeakers was very good and well proven, and the solution we proposed was within budget. We really just kept it simple with end user in mind.”
For the auditorium, two Tannoy VXP 15HP loudspeakers have been mounted on the ceiling as the main front of house system. VXP is Tannoy‘s line of self-powered sound reinforcement loudspeakers based on the passive VX Series products, and featuring the IDEEA power module from Lab.gruppen. Two further VXP 8 loudspeakers are positioned on the floor as monitor wedges, with two VSX 15DR subwoofers, powered by a Lab.gruppen C 48:4 amplifier, installed under the stage to provide extra LF support should it be required. Also in the amp rack are four Lab.gruppen E 8.2 amplifiers, which provide the power for the Tannoy Di6 loudspeakers installed on each side of the auditorium to act as side fills and delays.
With building work not limited to the auditorium itself, Hewshott also selected a number of Tannoy CVS ceiling speakers for the reception areas, DVS on-wall speakers for the boardrooms, and CMS dual concentric ceiling speakers for the dining areas, allowing for a signature sound throughout the building. The systems integration portion of the project was completed by project contractor Sigma-Byte A/V, whose own previous experience with Tannoy products made for a smooth installation.
Khedkar concluded: “The support offered by TC Group’s Krishna Singh and Binny Sharma throughout the process has been excellent. We really couldn’t ask for anything more. Since the installation was finished, the client has been 100% happy with the work we have done and the equipment we have installed.”
