The newly built Terra Emmen school offers a varied and practical curriculum to its Dutch students and required an audio system that could be as versatile as it was discrete. After assessing available options, the school’s administrators chose MM Concept Audio Solutions to assist in creating an audio infrastructure to reflect its sustainable, forward-thinking.
‘The initial brief from Terra Emmen was rather a simple one,’ says MM Concept Audio Solutions CEO, Mark Molema. ‘At that point, they weren’t being supported by an A/V system advisor, which was a huge benefit for us. As far as they were concerned, the functionality and ease-of-use of the system was key, which is a welcome change from the more in-depth or challenging plans we usually get from typical A/V system advisors. The fact that the school trusted our knowledge really allowed us to think outside of the box and come up with a unique way of giving them the functionality they required.’
Molema determined that a number of MAG Audio NX10-8 loudspeakers would best suit the job of covering the various zones around the building; a system that was to be driven by Powersoft’s Mezzo 602 A and Mezzo 322 A amplifier platforms. Mezzo offers the same sound clarity, reliability, and overall build quality of Powersoft install amplifiers, but in a half rack unit form factor. It comes with state-of-the-art DSP, in two power sizes, with two or four channels of output.
Since their introduction in 2019, the Powersoft Mezzo amplifier platforms have become MM Concept Solutions’ go-to for all fixed installation projects. ‘If we need larger amounts of system headroom, we go for the Quattrocanali or Ottocanali platforms, but generally the Mezzo is the one we choose,’ Molema says. ‘It gives us a unique power-to-size advantage, and its class-leading DSP features and Dante integration are always useful.’
Molema also cited Mezzo’s scalability and low-power consumption as major strengths in projects such as Terra Emmen. ‘The fixed installation market is getting more and more demanding,’ he says. ‘Clients will often prefer the most compact, cost-efficient solutions available; and Mezzo has a fantastic set of features to accommodate these factors and much more besides.’
The amplifier platforms were incorporated in the control section of the local area network, which allowed them to be remotely operated using the Neets room control system. ‘For these types of installations, the ease-of-use has to be exceptionally high in every environment,’ Molema explains. ‘Although the school staff have had training in the basic operation of the system, it was important to ensure that they wouldn’t be overawed by it or tempted to try and access any of its critical components. Luckily, the Mezzo platform doesn’t have any functions or buttons on its front panel, so this will never be an issue at Terra Emmen.’
Since completion of the installation, Molema and his team have received high praise from the end-user. ‘The system has been great for the school, particularly as it’s so user-friendly. The sonic quality has also been excellent, and the speech intelligibility is fantastic throughout the venue; which is key for announcements, meetings, assemblies, and many more applications besides. It sounds as if they are really enjoying learning how to make the most of it.’
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