Based in Hilden near Düsseldorf, event technology service provider Aventem specialises in corporate events for customers throughout Europe. Earlier this year, the company significantly expanded its already extensive inventory of wireless equipment with an investment in Sennheiser EW-DX systems.
The company purchased 18 Sennheiser EW-DX EM 4 Dante receivers, 72 EW-DX SK bodypack transmitters and 72 EW-DX SKM handheld transmitters, fitted with MMK 965-1 true condenser microphone capsules. The systems are operated with passive Sennheiser ADP UHF directional antennas (470MHz to 1075MHz) and can be remotely monitored and controlled using Sennheiser Control Cockpit, the Sennheiser Wireless Systems Manager (WSM) or – for smaller systems – the Sennheiser Smart Assist App. The four-channel 1U-high, 19-inch receivers have integrated PSUs and, at Aventem, are connected digitally via their Dante interfaces to audio mixing consoles that are also digital.
The systems’ 12 hours of battery life, a switching bandwidth of up to 88MHz and intermodulation-free signal transmission are appreciated by the technicians at Aventem, as is their integrated antenna splitter with antenna powering and loop-through to daisy chain up to 16 channels (4x EW-DX EM 4). The Sennheiser Performance Audio Codec (SePAC) limits latency to 1.9ms, which is not perceivable in practical operation.
Alongside the new EW-DX systems, Aventem has 16 digital Sennheiser EM 6000 two-channel receivers available, as well as 32 SK 6000 bodypack transmitters and 32 SKM 6000 handheld transmitters with MMK 965-1 microphone capsules. Wireless in-ear monitoring is based on analogue wireless technology from Sennheiser’s 2000 series.
Sennheiser EK 1039 Tourguide receivers are also part of the inventory, as are wired microphones from the Sennheiser and Neumann portfolios, including eight Neumann Miniature Clip Mic systems with KK 14 capsules.
‘Our partnership with Sennheiser goes back a long way,’ says Aventem MD, Holger Niewind. ‘In addition to the undisputed quality of the products and their proverbial reliability, we particularly value the short communication channels that we have with a German manufacturer. Sennheiser’s Jörg Langel has been our direct contact partner for many years, he’s always ready to listen to our concerns and ideas.
‘Analogue wireless channels from Sennheiser have been our faithful companions for many years, but nowadays digital wireless systems with their high spectral efficiency are the tools of choice,’ he continues. ‘We have been regularly using Sennheiser Digital 6000 systems at events since 2018, and our technicians always speak highly of the fact that they can arrange the transmission frequencies in an equidistant grid. This saves a huge amount of time when setting up the frequencies and generally minimises the stress involved with wireless systems. Another useful feature of the digital Sennheiser channels is the secure transmission of confidential content using AES 256 encryption – many industrial customers, and especially the financial sector, definitely appreciate this.’
‘With the purchase of the new Sennheiser EW-DX systems, we have significantly expanded our inventory of digital wireless channels – as far as I know, we are one of the first event technology service providers in Germany to have done this on such a scale,’ adds Hendrik Coers, also an Aventem MD. ‘We have always had the best experience with Sennheiser products, and our investment in EW-DX shows that we are really satisfied.’
As well as its headquarters in Hilden, Aventem GmbH Audiovisual Services has a branch in Berlin. ‘Whether it’s a small conference, a corporate event or a large public event, we do absolutely everything we can to make each and every project a success,’ says Coers. ‘We are a production company and not an equipment rental firm. We implement projects from start to finish, and our aim is to create the best possible result from the perfectly coordinated interaction between technology and set design – to the complete satisfaction of our customers.’
In 2017, Aventem moved into a newly built company location in Hilden, with offices, production suites, recreational areas and amenities such as a billiard table and a beach volleyball court.
‘We have grown significantly in recent years and now have well over 60 permanent employees,’ says Niewind. ‘We don’t necessarily want to go on growing fast at all costs – instead, we are currently working on further optimizing our processes. We will continue to focus on the industrial customer segment in the future. We have no plans to expand into the touring sector or to increase dry-hire activities.’
Sustainability is integral to Aventem’s corporate philosophy, environmentally friendly mobility and energy solutions high on the company agenda. A large solar power system on the roof of the headquarters is not only used to charge the company’s fleet of electric vehicles, but also generates electricity to meet the needs of the Hilden site.
‘We can also use this solar power to recharge some of our equipment, such as battery-powered spotlights,’ says Director of Marketing & Sales, Sebastian Rudolph. ‘Of course, the same applies to our Sennheiser LSP 500 Pro wireless loudspeakers, which are equipped with EM 300-500 G4 wireless receivers and SR 300 IEM G3 stereo transmitters. A lot of small steps like these go together to make a big difference, and that includes the fact that our new EW-DX EM 4 Dante receivers fit four channels into one rack unit, which means that transporting them requires half as much space as two-channel receivers.’
More: www.aventem.de
