Berlin, October 2018: In the sound control room Studio 3 of the Philharmonie Berlin, the concerts of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in the large hall are recorded, mixed and broadcast live by radio stations. Now Studio 3 has been converted to regular operation at 96 kHz and can now realize 5.1 productions with higher channel and microphone counts. The prerequisite for this was the renewal and expansion of the NEXUS audio network by the Berlin-based manufacturer STAGETEC. The NEXUS boards, which had been in use since 2006, were upgraded and supplemented with current technologies such as Dante and AES67. The network was expanded by one NEXUS Base Device and now comprises six Base Devices and one STAR router. The router is the star point of the NEXUS audio network. Here, broadcasters can connect their recording devices directly via MADI. For the past 12 years, Studio 3 has been equipped with a 56-fader AURUS, which has been fitted with seven powerful RMDQ DSP units for resource-intensive 96 kHz control operation.
"In modern productions, 96kHz is now assumed to be the standard for processing and storing audio signals. We have been able to work with this high resolution in the past, but we kept reaching limits in terms of the number of channels and mix busses in the AURUS alone, as well as the connection to the DAWs, " explains Marco Buttgereit, sound engineer at the Philharmonie Berlin. "Now we have a NEXUS system that, with 80 microphone inputs and a significantly enlarged channel and bus structure, allows us to perform even very complex orchestral recordings. With the expansion of the interfaces, also through Dante and Ravenna, we now have a high degree of flexibility in connecting peripherals.
"In modern productions, 96kHz is now assumed to be the standard for processing and storing audio signals. We have been able to work with this high resolution in the past, but we kept reaching limits in terms of the number of channels and mix busses in the AURUS, as well as the connection to DAWs," explains Marco Buttgereit, sound engineer at the Philharmonie Berlin. "Now we have a NEXUS system that, with 80 microphone inputs and a significantly enlarged channel and bus structure, allows us to perform even very complex orchestral recordings. With the expansion of the interfaces also through Dante and Ravenna, we now have a high degree of flexibility in connecting peripherals.
"When customer relationships last over several product generations and tenders, our concept has proven itself. And when it involves such renowned customers as the Berlin Philharmonic Hall, then we are particularly honored, " says a delighted Jens Kuhlmann, who planned this project. At STAGETEC, he is responsible for system planning, support and training.
In addition to concerts, Studio 3 is also used for CD productions of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and broadcasts to the Digital Concert Hall. Broadcasters such as RBB and Deutschlandfunk Kultur also use the sound control room for their own recordings.