Named after the former French international handball player, the Jean-Michel Geoffroy Sports Hall in the French city of Dijon was inaugurated on January 21, 1977.
Home to the JDA Dijon Basket basketball and the Dijon Métropole Handball teams and known as the Palais des Sports, fans at the stadium have a reputation for being particularly knowledgeable, and also vociferous in their support, resulting in an often-noisy atmosphere in the 4000-seat arena.
So, a primary focus of the brief for a new sound system was centred around a requirement for significant improvements in the intelligibility of match commentary.
Nicolas Gaillard, Audiovisual Project Manager for Burgundy-Franche-Comté at information and communications technologies specialists BVS, worked in collaboration with NEXO Engineering Support to propose a system which could meet exacting performance criteria in what is a highly reverberant space.
Modelling performance using NEXO’s NS-1 configuration software, a system was designed using just 16 of the company’s latest P18 point source speakers.
Deployed in active mode with processing and amplification from a rack of six 4-channel NEXO NXAMP4X4Mk2 Powered TD Controllers, P18s achieve a peak SPL of 142dB and a full frequency response of 50 Hz to 20 kHz, meaning no subs were required in the installation.
“The P18 brings a number of advantages to arena installations of this size,” reported NEXO ES team member David Hochstenbach following final on-site tuning at the Palais.
“There’s no need for subs, and it’s easier to get a consistent frequency response over the venue as distributed point sources are so much easier to deal with than line arrays. And rigging and cabling are also greatly simplified, further saving on cost.”
At the Palais, a ring of four P18s address the north, south, east, and west stands from a location directly above the centre of the court, with additional pairs of P18s above the fronts of each stand.
“This distributed design allows a reduction in distance between the source and listener,” said David in conclusion, “which helps to achieve higher STI values”.
“The P18 is a unique product,” commented NEXO’s French Sales Manager Jean-Jacques Vias. “At this price, no other speaker brings the same combination of high power and full bandwidth.”
About the NEXO P18
Building on the company’s acclaimed expertise in compact, high-output, point-source loudspeakers, NEXO’s P+ Series proved a hit following the launch of the P12 back in 2019.
Joining a range that already includes P8, P10, P12 and P15 models, the new P18 employs a long-excursion, Neodymium 18-inch LF / 4-inch diaphragm HF coaxial driver in a curvilinear enclosure of custom birch and poplar plywood. The cabinet footprint is relatively compact, measuring 680mm by 579mm by 446mm.
Frequency response is 50Hz-20kHz, and the SPL is an impressive 140dB Peak (passive mode) / 142dB Peak (active mode).
Like other speakers in the P+ Series, the versatility of the P18 is enhanced by a system for varying HF coverage patterns. Horn flanges can be interchanged to deliver a choice of directivities – from the 60° by 60° that is provided as standard, to a 90° by 40° or an asymmetrical 50°- 90° by 40°.
Switching between different directivities can be accomplished in just 15 seconds, easily removing the steel grille with a coin and replacing the flare, which uses a magnetic fixing.
