First joint project between Amptown System Company (ASC) and STAGETEC
Berlin, July 2019: The Hamburg-based system house Amptown System Company (ASC) and STAGETEC, the Berlin-based manufacturer of professional audio technology, are realizing their first joint projects. During the summer break, the brand-new IP mixing console AVATUS will experience its premiere in two renowned venues in Berlin. A 36-fader AVATUS was installed in the Konzerthaus Berlin at the Gendarmenmarkt. The Volksbühne will be equipped with a 48-fader FOH AVATUS and two 12-fader mobile consoles in the coming weeks.
On Friday, AVATUS made its debut in Germany at the Konzerthaus Berlin, as part of Young Euro Classic, an international music festival for youth orchestras. AVATUS replaces a 20-year-old CANTUS - from this first digital console from STAGETEC, the Konzerthaus is now switching to the first IP-based console. The novel concept in combination with the proven audio signal processing and the modern user interfaces were convincing. "The decision for the AVATUS was made democratically. Both the sound department of the Konzerthaus, the colleagues from rbb Hörfunk and Deutschlandradio Berlin, and we as planners were immediately convinced by the innovative features - we are starting the future of sound engineering with the AVATUS," said Ralf Bauer-Diefenbach, Managing Director of MMT Network. And Peter Laduch, Technical Director of the Konzerthaus Berlin, adds "The opinion of broadcasters is always important to us; after all, they regularly use our sound control room for broadcasts and recordings. I was very pleased that there was a smooth consensus in this regard."
AVATUS is embedded in an extensive audio network with nine fixed NEXUS Base Devices distributed throughout the building, as well as a mobile Base Device and a router. One NEXUS is used to transfer signals to connected OB trucks. For example, the second concert on Saturday, where AVATUS was used, was recorded by an OB truck for Deutschlandradio.
"It was something special," explains Christoph Wegner, Head of Sales at ASC, "to take delivery of the first four IP-based mixing consoles with associated NEXUS audio routing system with hundreds of I/Os at STAGETEC at the same time. As the head of ASC's Berlin branch, I am of course particularly pleased to be able to equip two such renowned stages as the Konzerthaus Berlin and the Volksbühne, and to have the customers, as well as the manufacturer STAGETEC, virtually on our doorstep here in Berlin for direct exchanges."
Reinhold Friedrich from the sales department at STAGETEC, who is in charge of both projects, sums up: "We are pleased about the good cooperation. With Ralf Bauer-Diefenbach from MMT Network as the responsible technical planner and ASC as the system specialist, we have found broad-based partners who bring a lot of experience and expertise to the table, from which our customers benefit. Thus, the first AVATUS in Germany was installed in a very short time and celebrated a successful premiere just one week after delivery."