Audio routing/processing in auditoria and classrooms across several higher education colleges in Trondheim is more flexible than ever before thanks to the latest generation of Symetrix open architecture DSPs.
Lecture hall audio and online content streaming in classrooms are just two of the tasks handled by Symetrix Solus and Radius 12×8 processors in Trondheim’s leading centers of higher education. The Symetrix devices were the selection of Atea, which has been providing integration services to two eminent colleges in Norway’s third largest city for several years now.
Boasting offices throughout Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, Atea is a regional power player in IT and AV installation. During the last 12 months Atea has made increasing use of two of Symetrix’ latest products: the SymNet Solus 16 open architecture standalone DSP and the SymNet Radius 12×8 open architecture scalable DSP with support for Audinate’s Dante media networking technology.
“Generally speaking, the Radius 12×8 and Solus DSPs offer the processing power and versatility required for academic-type installations,” says André Dominic Schorr,
AV senior consultant/programmer at Atea. “In most cases, we are talking about general purpose lecture room audio, streaming and sharing of content, and flexible routing to and from different lecture halls and teaching spaces. The Radius 12×8 and Solus 16 are entirely capable of handling such tasks, but there is no doubt that Dante networking affords even greater flexibility, so the level of interest in those solutions is definitely on the rise.”
In the most recent phase of work at its two primary academic clients in Trondheim, Schorr and his team have installed multiple 16-in, 8-out Solus processors. “One of the really great aspects for this type of project is that with Solus you have a library of design templates that provides a solid basis for most problems encountered in typical university installations,” he enthuses.
But above all, Schorr is admiring of the processor’s open architecture design. “I come from a live sound background, and it seems to me that Solus’ design makes life incredibly straightforward for all types of engineers – it really is very easy to get to grips with.” Then there is the processor’s rock-solid reliability: “Speaking for myself, I have never experienced a system failure, which is precisely what you need when dealing with high-volume projects like these.”
In both colleges of higher education, the Symetrix processors have been integrated successfully with an audio inventory that includes large numbers of RCF and Focal speakers, Sennheiser wireless microphones and Audix wired microphones. Cisco and Tandberg collaboration equipment, Crestron control solutions, Sony and Epson projectors and Samsung screens are among the other stalwart elements of Atea’s university installations.
“In our current and next phase of work, we are upgrading some auditoria and lecture halls that have not received significant attention for as long as 10 or 15 years,” reveals Schorr. “With the Symetrix DSPs we are confident that we have the tool to take these rooms forward confidently into a new era of technological ease and versatility.”
