Tannoy QFlex takes on acoustics challenges in German court

Germany’s Federal Administrative Court, or Bundesverwaltungsgericht, has undergone an audio refit, featuring Tannoy’s QFlex digital beam steering loudspeaker system.

One of Germany’s six Federal Courts, the building was built between 1888 and 1895, originally serving as the High Court of the German Empire (Reichsgericht), which was the supreme instance in civil and criminal law matters of the German Empire of 1871.

However, following the end of World War II, Leipzig became part of the GDR and the High Court was subsequently moved to West Germany. During the years of the socialist regime, the courthouse accommodated various non-judicial institutions, two museums and a dubbing studio.

Since German re-unification however, the building has been renovated, with many of the historic rooms having been restored. And as a building so steeped in history, it is little wonder that much attention has been paid to restoring its aesthetic. Yet, with the space serving such a crucial judicial function, audio intelligibility was equally important.

The key challenge for Leipzig-based AV specialists Studio Elektro Akustik (SEA) was to find a solution that would provide the required levels of intelligibility, without interfering with the aesthetic of the newly renovated space. Project Engineer Andre Scholze eventually opted for QFlex, Tannoy’s digital beam steering loudspeaker system.

QFlex uses multiple channels of advanced amplification and DSP to produce beams of acoustic energy, which are directed on to user defined target areas. This is designed to offer optimum speech intelligibility in highly reverberant spaces, such as those found in the Great Courtroom. The discrete profile of each array also means that the aesthetic impact is also minimised.

Scholze said: “Intelligibility had to be guaranteed, and I knew that the Tannoy QFlex product would produce the results the client wanted. In the end it was a pair of QFlex 32s that were the perfect solution for the Bundesverwaltungsgericht. Using Crestron control, the QFlex were relatively easy to install and set up, and because of the column design, were virtually invisible when compared with a conventional distributed loudspeaker set up.”

The staff at Bundesverwaltungsgericht were particularly impressed with the results in the Great Courtroom, so much so that it was decided to install a further two QFlex 24s in the small courtroom, again using Crestron products for control.

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