Les Champs Libres is not only the main city library in Florence, Italy; it also
incorporates the Museum of Brittany, a science museum with a planetarium, a
conference room and an exhibition hall.

Designed by architect Christian de Portzamparc 11 years ago, this cultural centre
recently hosted a highly progressive multipoint sound system installation that would
permit six sound designers to “sculpt’ artworks that could be moved in space.

At the hub of the system is an ingenious “engine’ in which advanced Powersoft tools
communicate with QSC Q-Sys integrated AV technology control over an AoIP platform.
This enables the designers to play out FLAC files — audio samples compressed with
the FLAC audio encoding algorithm over AES67 — which these devices support.

With eight Amadeus Audio PMX-5 loudspeakers and two ML-12 subwoofers distributed
in the exhibition hall; a Q-SYS 110F core; a pair of Powersoft Ottocanali 4K4 DSP +
Dante 8-channel amplifiers; and a Luminex GigaCore 12 managed Gigabit Ethernet
switch; which allows the sound creations made by these sound designers and mixed in
8-track, to be played optimally with linear and circulatory spatial features.

Two Q-Sys AES67 transmitters send dedicated streams to both 8-channel Powersoft
amplifiers via the Luminex GigaCore 12 switch, while the recent AES67 compatibility
of QSC’s Q-Lan audio router and Powersoft DSP + DANTE amplifiers, along with the Q-
Sys plug-ins, enable a perfect system integration.

The spatialized sonic ambience, in which the amazed visitors find themselves
immersed, is redolent of trains, particularly fitting since it coincides with the arrival of
the LGV (high speed train line) to the city this month, bringing Rennes just 1hr 25
from Paris.

The brain behind the idea is the facility’s Conference and Exhibition Hall – production
manager, Dewi Seignard. The installation was undertaken by his in-house team, with
equipment supplied by local AV system specialists, VIDELIO-IEC to meet the exacting
timeframe and technical requirement of this multipoint installation. Created within
their busy events cycle (conferences, exhibitions, installations) it was originally
intended to be a temporary exhibition. “However it quickly became evident that it
would remain for future events,’ stated Seignard.

He had been contacted ahead of the project by the venue’s director and asked to
come up with a design solution to meet the artistic requirement — and Seignard took
responsibility from conception to fulfilment in the venue hall, which links to all other
areas of the complex.

As for the selection of equipment, he says that Powersoft had been recommended by
Amadeus Audio’s Gaetan Byk and scientist Michel Deluc, as representing the best
integrated amplification and processing solution. “Also, there was the possibility
offered by the Armonia suite, as well as its ease of use, which completely convinced
me,’ he confirmed.

“As for Q-Sys, one of the main advantages of this system is that it allows non-experts
to make a management system with various access levels, while the Q-Sys designer
interface allows the system architecture to be designed depending on needs.’

The production manager made sure he had plenty of system headroom, opting for two
Ottocanali 4K4 DSP + D amplifiers. “Because we were unsure of the future usage for
this installation when we chose the products, it was essential that we made as much
provision for the future as possible. We were already aware of the possibilities offered
by AoIP (Audio over IP) as well as the AES67 standard since we already chose this
last year for our conference rooms, while my colleague, who manages the AV for
exhibitions also bought Amadeus Audio PMX8D speakers and ML15D sub which hosts
Dante cards.

“Another factor when we chose the gear was the possibility for the installation working
autonomously, once programming was completed. Q-Sys manages the power on and
off for the amplifiers as well as monitoring – thanks to a plugin dedicated to the
Powersoft amps.’

However, at the time of choosing the gear, the AES67 interoperability of the Q-Sys
system and Powersoft Dante module had only just been announced — and they
needed to wait for firmware integration. But they remained confident throughout,
despite having analogue/AES cables available as a backup (the Powersoft amps
automatically switching between the sources in the event of a Dante/AES67 network
failure).

There are obvious advantages of this design solution. “In a venue like ours, it isn’t
always easy to avoid the electromagnetic disruption which can interfere with the audio
signals over long cable distances. The two Powersoft amplifiers are located around
25m away, and so an IP infrastructure allows us to be to free of this distance issue.
We can also envisage future interconnection of the different areas in the venue with a
standard IT network infrastructure.

Summing up, Signard reports that the sound designers could not have been happier
or more appreciative of the way in which their creations had been realised and
reproduced. “During the final mixing stage, they were able to acknowledge the full
dimension of their artworks. Finally, despite the challenging nature of the venue for
accurate sound reinforcement, the combination of Q-Sys, Powersoft and Amadeus
Audio has worked wonders.

“Going forward we can see that having such a high level of integration will allow us to
answer future needs and consider interconnections that were until now impossible.
Furthermore, we have a proper system monitoring solution from a simple tablet or PC
situated on the other side of the building, enabling us to take appropriate action
within the actual audio processing architecture.

“We worked very closely with Powersoft’s highly responsive team through the whole
duration of the project. The processing and monitoring efficiency, coupled with the
flexibility of the amplification, the quiet cooling system and the AES67 interoperability
of the Powersoft Ottocanalli DSP+Dante amps allowed us to make a reliable
installation, which sees us perfectly placed for the future,’ Signard concludes.