Overview

 

From the outside the factory building you pass just before leaving Vechtas to the south appears rather austere. But as soon as you enter the bluish-grey building through its yellow-framed glass door it becomes clear why the young people of this Kreisstadt (county town) in Lower Saxony (pop. 31,000) descend in hordes on the discotheque DON ("Delight Of Nightlife").

With a good deal of enthusiasm and plenty of attention to detail, DON proprietor Andreas Grotegeers spent 10 weeks completely refurbishing the building. He managed to dispel the harsh industrial character of the inside of the building and replace it with a tastefully designed interior: wooden bars and rustic stools exude warmth, and a 60s-style retro carpet provides the necessary stylish ambience. Numerous cleverly positioned gold-ornamented mirrors make the rooms appear larger than they are, while an ultra-modern PA system provides a real sonic kick.

At the outset the acoustic conditions were far from ideal. Flutter echoes and standing waves caused by unforgiving concrete and parallel walls initially made it impossible to produce a powerful and well-defined sound. A special sound-absorbing carpet and careful use of acoustic panels in the passageways between the three large event zones enabled Grotegeers to get around the problems without sending costs through the roof.

While the so-called "Main" zone with its large dance floor hosts the actual discotheque and gigs at the weekends, the DON also has a smart "Bistro" featuring a long, friendly bar, and a "Club" with a smaller dance floor that can also host corporate events or birthday celebrations. Sound for each of the three event zones can be supplied independently, or jointly from any of the other zones. Audio signals can also be routed from anywhere into the entrance foyer and to speakers located in the WCs.

Installed Products

Processors:

DME24N

Power Amplifiers:

P7000S, P5000S

Details

The Technology in Detail

Plenty of attention to detail: the "Main" dance floor.

All the routing and loudspeaker control is performed using a single Yamaha DME24N. The engine has a total of four stereo inputs coming from the three DJ mixers in the respective event zones ("Main", "Club", and "Bistro") and the Bistro CD player. Inside the DME the freshly digitized input signals are routed to a switchable digital matrix, from where they are distributed to crossovers and propagation delays, converted back to analog at the outputs, and fed via the Yamaha power amplifiers to the loudspeaker systems.

Amplification in the "Main" zone is handled by a Yamaha P7000S amplifier that powers four VMB Pro-208 speaker cabinets, and a P5000S amplifier that drives a couple more Pro-208s. A Crest CA12 power amplifier drives a VMB 218-C2 subwoofer (2 x 18'') and two VMB 215-C2 subs (both 2 x 15'').

The subwoofers in the "Club" — two VMB 218-C2 systems — are driven by a second Yamaha P7000S amp, while as in the "Main" area, the four primary speakers in the "Club" (also VMB Pro 208s) are driven by a Yamaha P5000S.

A 100V PA-4240 power amplifier also drives the T+M speakers that provide background music in the "Bistro", the WCs, the large "Main" bar, and the entrance foyer.

Michael Hünteler of Pan Music on His Installation

Michael Hünteler of Pan Music

The system was installed by light and sound specialists Pan Music, from the neighboring town of Lohne. Michael Hünteler, whom we met in DON, is a genuine pioneer in digital technology. He specializes in PA equipment and has been using Yamaha digital consoles for live mixing since the 90s. "Those days people sometimes used to tap their foreheads when I turned up at a gig with a Yamaha 02R. But the technology fascinated me right from the start." And Hünteler now knows how true it is: he who laughs last, laughs loudest. "The Yamaha digital desks were most handy compared to the enormous analog beasts around then. I could also leave some racks of external gear at home, so I never had to cart much stuff about."

Nowadays Michael Hünteler relies on Yamaha's new LS9 or M7CL live consoles and — as is the case at DON — Yamaha's all-purpose DME24N. At one time digital sound was a matter of taste, admits Hünteler. "Compared to analog systems, the sound of the first digital consoles had some drawbacks. They lacked a bit of warmth. But now that's just so much history. Yamaha's digital equipment sounds fantastic — extremely warm, very musical, and also crystal clear and noiseless compared to analog," he enthuses.

The reason he chose a DME24N as the digital matrix, crossover, signal processor and propagation delay for DON is simple and telling. "Yamaha's DME engines can simply do everything, without compromising in the slightest. For instance, why should we install additional loudspeaker controllers when the DME24N has its own filters, crossovers, and propagation delays? The DMEs can do just about everything so we're now only installing these engines — no exceptions! They're extremely versatile, dead easy to use, they sound really good. and help save the organizer loads of money, without him having to accept any compromises."

It's important that the version numbers of the DME Designer software and the firmware in the DME are identical. "Both devices should always be updated at the same time, then there's never any problem." Another unrivalled DME feature is the remote diagnosis option. "When Andreas Grotegeers wants something changed at DON, all I have to do is hitch myself up to the DME from the office via the Internet and I can do most things from there. This speed can be enormously important for clients in certain circumstances."

Proprietor Andreas Grotegeers on His New System

The rack with the DME24N, a PA-4240, four Yamaha P series amps and a Crest CA-12 (from top to bottom).

The Hünteler brothers programmed five presets for the various applications at DON. "Depending on the type of event, all I have to do is go to the DME in the engineering room and switch over the presets," says proprietor Andreas Grotegeers. "Really not a big deal. In addition to the disco and club we also put on concerts as well as after-work and company events. All the settings I need are there at the touch of a button."

Grotegeers is also more than satisfied with the sound of the system: "Stunning, awesome! I really can't put it any other way! Not just my opinion, incidentally, our guests and hirers are also mighty impressed and keep praising the system. I'm also dead pleased that the sound doesn't drop out when the presets are changed. Michael programmed some fades so that the transitions are nice and soft. And whenever I do need a bit more oomph, I can just tweak the DME and add another +6 dB."

Finally Michael, with an impish grin, demonstrated a gimmick that has meanwhile become the trademark of all Pan Music's installations: if there's no music signal on the background sound system, the internal Wave player in the DME outputs soothing birdsong to the speakers — a nice, cheeky message to all those who back in the 90s thought that the "digital freak" was not quite all there.

System Designer/Integrator/Supplier

PAN Music

Profile:

PAN Music was founded in 1996 by the brothers Klaus and Michael Hünteler, and has been successfully selling professional light and sound systems for more than ten years. The company, based in the Oldenburg region, also acts a distributor for numerous other companies. Over the years PAN Music has established itself in other lines of business involved in the service sector. It has acquired an excellent reputation in the installation and exhibition stand construction sectors and has a large and loyal customer base, attributable in large part to excellent reliability. As the core business is sales rather than, for example, rentals, PAN Music enjoys a high degree of acceptance from rental companies in the area, among whom the Lohne-based company is not viewed as a competitor, but respected as a professional advisor and dealer. PAN Music's other areas of activity include the design of special installation solutions, preassembly of tour equipment, and the repair of loudspeakers and moving lights. As PAN Music combines the skills of a PA equipment specialist with the technical knowledge of an electrical engineer, apprentices working towards careers involving PA equipment come here to enjoy the benefits of a high-quality technical grounding.

Country

Germany

Web site

http://www.pan-music.de

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