France-based Amadeus Audio has installed its newest array speaker, the DIVA M², at the prestigious Paris Gaîté Lyrique Theater digital arts and modern music center.

Initially equipped by Amadeus for the theater’s 2011 re-opening with the company’s EtherSound-enabled speakers, DIVA XS and XL Series, among other Amadeus models, La Gaîté Lyrique decided to upgrade its Front of House speaker system in the facility’s Large Hall and has chosen the newest Amadeus DIVA M² array speakers (pronounced ‘M Squared’).

Along with the fourteen DIVA M² loudspeakers, Amadeus has also installed four new DIVA M² SUB bass complements, paired with Lab.gruppen amplifiers and LAKE controllers.The Large Hall performance space at the theater features a 750-person standing capacity (with over 300 seats), an adjustable stage with multiple heights, configurations and surfaces, and 46 independent visual screens spread out over the four sides of the room to create a total immersion experience for the audience.

The Large Hall includes telescopic tiers of bleachers for seating, which can be folded away sideways. Projection screens can be mounted at various levels on any of the four walls, and a large variety of audience and stage setups can be accommodated.“The growing demand from artists, as well as producers for immersive video setups, brought us to look for a more discreet sound system,” explained Jean-Marc Harel, sound department manager at La Gaîté Lyrique.

“We wanted speakers placed in a configuration minimizing the projected shadows on the visual screens, but without compromising on the power, on the sound pressure level and the clarity and quality of the sound itself. This is why we became interested in the newest Amadeus DIVA M². Both the speaker’s size and harmonious visual aesthetic perfectly matched our equipment needs.”

Harel added: “The power and size ratio of the new DIVA M² array speakers compared to the older version is really impressive – even compared to the Amadeus DIVA XL that we used during the past few years. Its new built-in technologies, including the new proprietary waveguide, paired with its coaxial drivers and linear-phase crossover filters – featuring a steep 96 dB per octave cutoff slope – help to offer a total linearity throughout the theater’s listening area.“Thanks to these new capabilities, we have been able to rethink the layout of the main FOH clusters by adding two Amadeus DIVA M² SUB bass complements in line with the main speakers which are hung on the same bumper. The new subwoofers can be adjusted from 0-to-10° which really helps control the low frequencies beam."Digging deeper into the technical benefits of the speakers and the sound system design, Pierre Le Cardinal, FOH Mixing Engineer at La Gaîté Lyrique, added: “The ease of adjustment of the new variable curvature rigging system, which is based on a ‘logarithmic structure’ of inter-element angles, along with its reduced weight, bring a real added value allowing us to quickly implement different configurations for each audience – whether they are standing, sitting, using the telescopic bleachers opened or closed – within the Large Hall concert area.

"This new speaker installation perfectly meets our integration constraints for the concert hall, as well as our ambition for a qualitative evolution of the sound – thanks to a higher sound pressure level, more dynamic response, and better coverage definition across the entire audience.”The Gaîté Lyrique is entering a new era with this technological upgrade. The City of Paris has bestowed the management of this exclusive showcase for digital arts on SEGL. The new management of the Gaîté Lyrique initiated deep changes in equipment and programming.

“The Amadeus DIVA M² speakers allow us to confidently offer excellent sound reinforcement for every international artist who performs at the theater and to satisfy the most demanding productions in various music genres including rap, pop or EDM, which are some of the centerpiece styles of our programming,” said Harel.

Audio Equipment Installed in the Paris Gaité Lyrique Theater includes:• (14) Amadeus DIVA M² high-efficiency array loudspeakers



• (4) DIVA M² SUB high-efficiency LF extension loudspeakers



• (1) LAKE LM 26 digital audio loudspeaker crossover/processors

• (4) Lab.gruppen C88 4-channel installation amplifiers