d&b Soundscape arrives on the Netherlands’ Pop circuit.
Long-running live music venue PAARD in The Hague has, with the help of Amptec, taken a leap forward in live sound with new systems from d&b audiotechnik, including the first permanent d&b Soundscape installation in The Netherlands.
The spirit of PAARD
Since 1972, PAARD has maintained its position as one of the Benelux region’s top live music and club destinations. With its diverse programme – from spoken word and punk, to international pop, DJs and club nights – PAARD is proud to capture ‘the spirit of the times’.
PAARD has two spaces. The largest, The Grote Zaal (officially the Grolsch Zaal), has room for 1,100, while the Kleine Zaal holds up to 350. Recently, after seven years of service from the previous sound systems, the time had come for a renewal in both spaces – and the team began researching possibilities.
Head of Technical Wauter Wormser says, “Keeping up with new technologies is essential, but being forward-thinking is even better. For us, sound is about treating the audience, and making the musical experience as powerful as possible.”
To find fitting solutions, they turned to Amptec.
Forward thinking with Soundscape
Having already explored immersive sound possibilities, the PAARD team decided to push technology boundaries in the Kleine Zaal, and opted for a d&b Soundscape system. This would be the first permanent d&b Soundscape installation in The Netherlands, and the first immersive sound system in a Benelux live music venue.
The Kleine Zaal’s new 360° d&b Soundscape setup, consisting of A-Series loudspeakers paired with XSL-SUBs, plus further A-Series cabinets for delays and E3s for surrounds.
Wormser explains, “We want to keep surprising our audience and allow them to experience music as intensely as possible. Even a simple left-right recording immediately sounds richer and more spacious through intelligent use of the software and the truly masterful reverb within Soundscape’s En-Space module.”
With the Soundscape system now operational, Wormser is excited for the future. “I believe we’ll be able to focus much more on making music together with the artists,” he says, “instead of worrying about the colouration of the room or fighting with channel EQs, or bus summing just to make individual sources audible.”
The Amptec team was led by Project Manager Bob Roodenburg, with Steven Aerts as Technical Lead. Roodenburg adds, “We are excited to see immersive audio entering the club scene. Creative professionals and artists now have a venue on the pop circuit where immersive concerts are possible. This will undoubtedly open new doors for PAARD.”
Cardioid control: KSL for the Grolsch Zaal
Meanwhile, for PAARD’s main space, Amptec supplied and installed a d&b KSL system. The mid-sized model in the SL-Series, KSL offers unprecedented full bandwidth cardioid performance, delivering exceptional control of directivity, and therefore a quieter stage area and improved clarity of sound and control of off-site noise – essential for noise regulations compliance.
Optimized by Amptec with d&b ArrayProcessing, the system uses two flown arrays, each of eight KSL8 cabinets with a KSL-SUB, plus another four KSL-SUBs at ground level. Six clusters of AL60 cover the upper balcony, with eight 44S cabinets as under-balcony delays, and four Y7P and Y10P point source cabinets for outfill duties. Monitoring on the otherwise ‘quieter’ stage is via 14 M4s and a pair of CCL-SUBs.
Wormser says, “The SL-Series is one of the most revolutionary developments of the past decade. The quieter the stage, the more control you retain in the audience area, allowing all the different instruments to be heard.
“At FOH, we no longer have to deal with the enormous amount of indirect sound. We think it’s important to keep looking for ways to reduce sound pressure levels without compromising the experience. Thanks to d&b’s KSL and ArrayProcessing technology, we can reduce SPLs without compromise.”
