IP-based consoles replace up to 22-year-old CANTUS consoles
Mainz, September 2019: Theaters can only renew their technology in the summer during weeks when there are no performances. This year, the Staatstheater Mainz used the time to renovate its audio technology. The NEXUS network, which had been installed in the Kleines Haus since 1997 and in the Großes Haus since 2001, was thoroughly modernized and parts of it were renewed. Integrated into the audio network were three CANTUS consoles, still from the first generation of digital mixing consoles from STAGETEC. For the mixing console technology, the choice fell on the latest console from the Berlin manufacturer: the IP-based AVATUS. One of the decisive factors was the modular concept of AVATUS, which allows very individual console sizes and combinations to be put together via Ethernet.
A 48-fader AVATUS with the NEXUS STAR router was installed in the sound control room of the Großes Haus. The heart of the audio control room in the Small House is an AVATUS with 36 faders and the corresponding router. A third AVATUS with 24 faders is mobile as a remote console and can be configured as an extension of the main console or as a parallel console for use in the auditorium, as required in both houses.
"Thanks to its modular design, AVATUS no longer has a classic central control panel. All functions and parameters can be configured and operated via the 21" large multi-touch displays. The intuitive menu navigation as well as the color coding of the control elements ensure that the user always keeps the essentials in view, " explains Michael Müller, the project manager at STAGETEC. "This results in completely new working approaches and possibilities for the customer - this was found to be very exciting at the Staatstheater Mainz and was also the reason why they decided on AVATUS."
In the future, the studio of the Kleines Haus will rely on an AURUS console with renewed RMDQ DSP units for recordings and sound processing.
As before, the NEXUS system is used as the audio network, into which the CANTUS consoles were already integrated. The network was extended by several interfaces, such as the Dante Audio-over-IP interface (XDIP). About 75% of the old NEXUS components can still be used after a factory overhaul and an upgrade to the Matrix 5 product version: nine Base Devices from the Large and Small Houses and two Stageboxes as mobile units for both houses with about 340 input and output boards. A typical example of the sustainability of Stage Tec products.
The AURUS in the studio stage is connected to two NEXUS base devices via the STAR router.
"For us as users, the change from STAGETEC's CANTUS digital console to the AVATUS IP console means not only that the user interfaces look completely different. The operating philosophy is also quite different. But my colleagues from the sound department were already looking forward to the new console, " sums up Andreas Stiller, head of the sound department. "AVATUS had its theater premiere on August 31 in the Großes Haus with "The Tales of Hoffmann". The operating concept of the IP console has proven itself and can prove itself again in the next elaborate production "The Producers"."