Built in 1967, the Congress Hall in Saarbrücken/Germany is home to a range of a broad variety of events such as conferences, trade fairs and conventions as well as shows and concerts of all kinds, some of which are also broadcast on radio and television by public broadcaster Saarländischer Rundfunk (SR).

Following the Hall’s renovation and reopening in September 2023, also the location’s control room of the SR was equipped with a modern audio infrastructure. With the installation of a Lawo mc²36 MkII all-in-one production mixing console and two Lawo AoIP stageboxes, the SR replaced the previous analog system with a console that meets the broadcaster’s quality standards in terms of performance, flexibility and efficiency.

The mc²36 MkII production console as the heart of the audio infrastructure

The heart of the audio equipment is an mc²36 MkII production console with integrated processing. With its A_UHD core technology, it offers 256 processing channels available at both 48 and 96 kHz, which means that even large orchestral productions can be mixed. The all-in-one mixing console natively supports ST2110, AES67, RAVENNA and Ember+. With an I/O capacity of up to 864 channels and its local I/Os, the mc²36 MkII offers extensive connectivity. The two additional Lawo A_stage64 AoIP stageboxes support ST2110-30/31 and AES67 / RAVENNA and ensure the integration of audio signals.

“With the new audio technology in our control room in the Congress Hall, we have taken a first step into the IP world, which gives us considerable freedom in production,” explains Ralf Schnellbach, Head of Radio Production Technology at SR and project manager for this installation. “It makes many things easier, faster and clearer, such as switching between 48 and 96 kHz or signal management with the new user lists.”

First step into the world of IP

Based on many years of good experience with Lawo systems as well as the company’s project and customer support, SR opted for a setup from the Rastatt-based manufacturer for the Congress Hall installation. “In addition to performance, sound characteristics and compactness, the system’s comprehensive flexibility also played a major role when deciding on the equipment. The capacity allows a whole range of configurations for a wide variety of productions, and the extended matrix and control options as well as the integration of external panels, in this installation, make an external talkback infrastructure obsolete. With this installation, a smart and economically very lean sound control room was created, whose components can be moved for mobile use without great effort, like for festivals during the summer break,” Schnellbach concludes.

About Lawo

Lawo is a global technology partner with a long history of delivering innovative solutions for live media production workflows. With a unified approach that combines workflow management and control, physical I/O, processing, and human interfaces, Lawo creates optimized solutions for productions including television broadcast and on-air radio, performing arts, houses of worship, and professional AV. Lawo products are manufactured to highest quality standards in Rastatt, Germany.

For additional information www.lawo.com.