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Providing sound reinforcement for a live televised casting show ranks among the most demanding tasks in event technology: the house sound and the broadcast feed both have to work, the equipment must stay out of shot, and the studio still has to feel like a genuine live event despite all restrictions. For a major studio production at the Coloneum in Cologne, with an audience of around 1,300, dBTechnologies – working with MMC Studios – developed a fully flown sound reinforcement design based on the VIO series that reconciles these conflicting requirements within a single, coherent system.
The studio in Cologne seats 1,315. The production's parameters included a band playing live at times, the simultaneous use of headset and handheld microphones, and judges' microphones left permanently open. At the same time, the brief was clear: no loudspeakers visible on camera, no subwoofers or monitor wedges on the floor – and yet a punchy, evenly distributed sound across every tier.
System design and architecture
"On a TV production, we're dealing with several constraints at once – sightlines, acoustic shadowing, the separation of broadcast feed and house PA, and above all, a high gain-before-feedback with permanently open microphones," explains Jochen Gotzen, Technical Director at dBTechnologies. Jens Szczygieleski of Atlive, who led the implementation of the project, adds: "The consistent tonal character running right through the VIO series was the decisive advantage here: we could freely combine different system types without introducing any tonal discontinuities, and we flew the entire rig to keep the floor clear and take the equipment out of shot."
The various systems were sourced for the production from the VIO Rental Network. Main coverage was handled by 24x VIO L1610 line array modules in three arrays. The stalls and perimeter zones were served by an additional 26x VIO L1608 in six short arrays, supplemented by 4x VIO X310 as point-source systems and 4x VIO X205 as delay lines. On stage, 6x VIO W12 provided monitoring. The design and aiming of every system were carried out in advance – by MMC's Martin Antulov and Marius Dimke – in EASE Focus, so that coverage, level distribution and frequency response could be matched across all audience areas at the simulation stage.
"Our aim was to give every visitor a consistently high-quality sonic experience, wherever they were seated. Thanks to careful system planning and the capabilities of EASE Focus, we were able to tailor the sound reinforcement precisely to the venue before load-in. It's always rewarding to see the work done in simulation later reflected in such homogeneous, transparent reproduction," say Antulov and Dimke.
Low end as the acoustic reference
The heart of the concept was the low-frequency section. With floor subwoofers ruled out, a central, flown sub cluster of 8x VIO S118 was deployed – arranged in an arc and configured symmetrically or asymmetrically depending on position, to steer the low-frequency energy precisely onto the audience.
"The subs are our zero," says Gotzen. "We defined the flown sub cluster as the acoustic reference and time- and phase-aligned every other system to it. With the right crossover, the whole system sits in phase. The result is noticeably better localisation and a considerably higher gain-before-feedback – exactly what you need with permanently open judges' microphones and a lively house."
Control and monitoring over Aurora Net
Every system is networked via Aurora Net and driven over a redundant A2Net. Because all VIO systems are active and carry their own onboard DSP, there is no need for an external processor or matrix layer – on the signal side, only the routing had to be implemented. In Aurora Net, every loudspeaker could be displayed individually, grouped by tier, fine-tuned in delay and frequency response, and monitored throughout.
"Every loudspeaker is on the network, each has its own DSP, and the phase response across the VIO family is identical," Szczygieleski adds. "That makes the transitions between the main system, stalls, delays and outfills extremely clean – for the studio audience, the impression is of a single, unified source, even though a large number of systems are working in the room."
"As FOH engineers, what we value most about this system is the combination of control and consistency. On a live TV show in particular, where there's no second chance, it gives us the assurance that the system performs exactly as planned," emphasise Martin Antulov and Marius Dimke.
The project is a textbook example of how a homogeneous, high-performance PA can be delivered even under the tight constraints of a live TV production: through a precise analysis of the requirements, the right system selection and positioning, several simulation runs, and clean on-site tuning. What remains decisive is keeping the acoustic goal firmly in view throughout the entire process.
More about MMC Studios: https://mmc.de/
