Allen & Heath iLive digital systems have been installed throughout the new Philharmonic Hall in the Polish city of Szczecin. The iconic, award-winning building was constructed to replace a smaller concert hall, providing a larger and more modern facility covering 12,000 square metres across four storeys, which include a symphonic hall, a chamber hall, and several rehearsal suites. Supplied, installed and integrated by Konsbud Audio, the venue is equipped with a total of five iLive mixing consoles.
“iLive was chosen because of its modular structure, which presented the significant advantage of easy expansion or reconfiguration options. Another important factor in such a big project was the quality to price ratio, and Allen & Heath products meet the requirements of large institutions but at the same time remain at an acceptable price level. The venue was also aware that there are many examples around the world of iLive being installed and performing excellently in big concert halls, similar to the Symphonic Hall,” comments Piotr Jankiewicz, director of the Design and Integration department at Konsbud Audio.

iLive modular Control Surfaces – two iLive-176s and an iLive-144 – are installed in the larger Symphonic Hall where the 176 models manage FOH and monitors, while the iLive-144 is installed in an acoustic booth. In the Chamber Hall, designed for chamber concerts and educational events, there are two iLive-T Control Surfaces – an iLive-T80 and iLive-T112 – to manage FOH and monitors.“iLive-T Series are smaller, lighter and more compact than the modular models, and are perfect for chamber halls where there is less space available around the engineer’s position,” explains Jankiewicz.

The MixRacks powering the surfaces – an iDR-64, iDR-32, iDR-16, plus a MADI-enabled xDR-16 expander unit – are installed in a nearby equipment room. Normally, iDR-64 is dedicated to managing audio in the Symphonic Hall, while the iDR-32 and iDR-16 are dedicated to the Chamber Hall. “It is also possible and very easy to reconfigure the MixRacks to feed alternative surfaces in a different venue if the need arises, it’s only a matter of changing the cables patch,” concludes Jankiewicz.