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| Dynacord TS 200, TS 100, TS 400 as well as Electro-Voice EVID 4.2W speakers were installed at the cathedral |
Built from the 13th century onwards, the spectacular Cathedral of Verden is the first Gothic cathedral of Lower Saxony, Germany. Used as a Lutheran bishops’ see after the Reformation, the impressive Lutheran cathedral boasts the oldest hall-surrounding choir in the whole of Germany. For the medieval cathedral, however, in November the time had come to move into the modern age. After 40 years the sound equipment was outdated, so the cathedral’s parish called on Verden-based Axel Hartig to install a new sound reinforcement system.
To ensure the new system would both improve the sound quality and at the same time tame the high reverberation time of six seconds within the 38-meter tall building, Hartig opted for a system from Dynacord. “We wanted to let everyone really experience the advantages of a professional audio system”, explains Hartig. “That is why we did an on-site comparison with a Vertical Array System from Dynacord, an ideal system for challenging venues.” Not without doing a few tests beforehand to determine the best position for the speakers.
Having demonstrated the impact of the Dynacord solution and already received impressive feedback, Hartig and his team were commissioned to install the system within the timeframe of a week.
Hartig and his team installed a sound system that would also ensure that live music performances would be possible in the future. Dividing the cathedral into eight zones, the system relies on a variety of Dynacord Vertical Array Systems. Left and right of the nave, Hartig and his team positioned a total of ten speakers. Six TS 200 and two TS 100 speakers are located at each pillar respectively. According to the position of the respective pillar, each speaker is fitted with a respective delay. At the bottom of the altar, at the cathedral’s crossing, two additional TS 400 speakers ensure optimal sound. For the transept and the choir area Hartig and his team opted for a total of eight TS 200, for the aisles they relied on six TS 100. In the galleries, where the organs as well as the cathedral and trombone choirs are occasionally positioned, additional four pairs of Electro-Voice EVID 4.2W were installed. “No matter what size, the loudspeakers of the Vertical Array Series are fantastic”, comments Hartig. “They provide a very high level of intelligibility and homogenous sound throughout the cathedral. And due to their vertically arranged woofers as array elements, we have full control over the speakers’ dispersion pattern.” Another factor in favour of Dynacord’s Vertical Array System was its design and colour. “There was no way we were going to install a system with massive black boxes”, recalls Hartig. “With their aesthetic, slim design and white coating, the TS speakers blend wonderfully into the cathedral’s interior.”
For power, Hartig and his team again relied on Dynacord as well as its sister company Electro-Voice. Driving the speakers are seven Electro-Voice PA2450L and one Dynacord DSA 8204 amps. Allowing control and monitoring of the system is a Dynacord P 64 digital audio matrix manager. “Working with the P64 is a lot of fun!” says Hartig. “Using IRIS-Net software, I programmed the P64 myself and it’s just great to see, how many possibilities the audio digital matrix manager offers.” Hartig is especially taken by the details the P64 offers. “In the cathedral, we work with normal power sockets. Here, we plug together eight sockets, which creates a high inrush current, something not especially good for the power fuse. We therefore built a power delay, which runs on a 10 Volt signal. It’s great that the P64 can give a signal to such an analogue 10 Volt output.” To enable easy handling like adjusting the volume or adding and removing zones, Hartig and his team provided the operators with a tablet, which shows the cathedral’s ground plan, and individual buttons. “This way, anyone can operate the system without mistuning it or changing the settings – a feature especially welcomed by the parish clerk.” And it is she, along with the congregation, who was the first to praise the new sound reinforcement system. “Even if you move along the cathedral, you don’t notice any transitions between zones. The sound seems to come from one single source.”
