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Europe’s Largest Military Museum Opens Doors with Meyer Sound

In Utrecht, the Netherlands, Europe’s largest military museum has recently opened on the site of a former air force base. To create dynamic realism in the exhibits, the new Dutch National Military Museum has installed 69 Meyer Sound loudspeakers in seven areas, including a steerable CAL™ column array loudspeaker system to cut through a vast, highly reverberant space.

“We chose Meyer Sound for this project because we needed systems that could deliver exceptional sound in larger environments, as well as high-quality, multi-channel audio in acoustically difficult settings like the Dome Theater,” says Sierk Janszen, head of technology for Rapenburg Plaza, the Amsterdam-based theatrical technology firm that designed the museum’s audio, video, lighting, and show control systems.

The 15-meter-wide Dome Theater presents a 360-degree, floor-to-ceiling, immersive video environment that traces the history of warfare through the centuries. To support a 16.1 surround system, an installed Meyer Sound IntelligentDC™ solution features three UPM-1XP loudspeakers, 13 MM-4XP self-powered loudspeakers, and two UMS-1P subwoofers. IntelligentDC systems in other areas incorporate 21 MM-4XPD, eight MM-4XP, 13 UP-4XP, and three UPM-1XP loudspeakers, as well as eight MM-10 subwoofers. Rapenburg Plaza worked in close consultation with Meyer Sound distributor Audio Electronics Mattijsen (AEM) to design the system.

“The small speakers mounted behind the perforated projection surface work incredibly well in the acoustically challenging, steel-surfaced dome,” says Janszen. “IntelligentDC technology provided flexible signal routing and ease of installation and maintenance, and the design and simulation work done by AEM was crucial.”

In a vast, hangar-like space housing combat aircraft, a CAL 32 loudspeaker leverages highly accurate beam-steering technology to deliver exceptional clarity for an F-16 theatre presentation. Different presets adjust the vertical beam spread to accommodate audiences of up to 300.

“Museum management has repeatedly noted the clarity of spoken word narratives and the surprisingly good sound in the dome,” adds Janszen. “They are very happy with the results.”

The 20,000-square-meter National Military Museum was designed by Felix Claus Dick van Wageningen Architects, with exhibition design by Kossmann.dejong. AV content was developed by Shosho and Aanpak Film.

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