Situated on a 100-hectare site less than 15 minutes from the central French city of Clermont-Ferrand, The Grande Halle d’Auvergne Exhibition Centre is notable for its exceptional architecture, using wood, glass and Volvic stone to blend in perfectly with the surrounding area against the stunning backdrop of the volcanoes of Auvergne.
Forming part of the building’s event space and sitting alongside the Zénith concert hall, one of the largest in France, is a more intimate auditorium for a seated audience of around 600.
As part of an initiative to expand the use of this venue beyond corporate presentations to encompass concerts and one man shows, the venue management called in engineering, systems integration and digital services specialists the Snef Group to propose a new, more versatile sound system.
Working in collaboration with consultant Thierry Carrier and with support from the NEXO Engineering Support Team, a NEXO GEO M10 line array system was configured and ultimately deployed to great effect.
Stéphan Perriand, Chargé d’affaires at Snef Service Audiovisuel takes up the story:
“This was a successful collaboration with NEXO, resulting in the installation of a GEO M10 system, comprised of four M1012s and one more steeply angled M1025 per side,” he said.
“A cluster of three L18 subwoofers in a cardioid configuration per side provides the system with impact and warmth and six NEXO ID 24s provide fill coverage at the front of the stage. The entire system is amplified by four NXAMPMk2 Powered TD Controllers.
“This audio system was upgraded after more than twenty years of operation of the previous system. Intelligibility and consistency are, of course, guaranteed for the most common, seminar-type uses.
“The musicality and finesse of this GEO M10 system, along with its ample reserves of power, now also allow for live events and open up new possibilities for the operator.”
Powerful and flexible, the NEXO GEO M Series incorporates three systems that share the same sonic characteristics, utilising unique and patented NEXO technologies to achieve extraordinary levels of performance from compact, lightweight cabinets.
With touring and installation versions available, GEO M6, M10 and M12 line arrays each include a proportionally sized sub bass cabinet and share the same ‘plug & play’ Dante-networkable amplification and processing solution, making it easy to mix and match GEO M systems in a single application.
