A cornerstone of Reims’ contemporary music scene since its opening in 2005, La Cartonneriev hosts up to 120 concerts annually. The venue houses three performance spaces. The expansive 1,200-capacity Great Hall is accompanied by an intimate 350-seat Club and the versatile Floor – a warm-up area that doubles as a bar and restaurant. Beyond concerts, it supports musicians through residency programmes and drives cultural initiatives like the La Magnifique Society Festival.
The venue recently completed an upgrade to an L-Acoustics eco-friendly L Series system in the Great Hall.
When certified L-Acoustics partner MDS Audio and Orion first walked in, they knew they were facing an acoustic puzzle. The venue’s multi-level architecture and challenging asymmetric configuration make it difficult to deliver clear audio throughout.
‘The hunt for the perfect sound wasn’t just about technical specifications,’ explains La Cartonnerie Technical Director, Jérémie Valensi. ‘L-Acoustics stood out through a sustainable manufacturing approach and commitment to French production. The L Series, with its Progressive Ultra-dense Line Source technology, offered exactly what our complex space needed – exceptional sonic performance, impressive power-to-size ratio, and versatility that could handle our unique architectural challenges.’
The installation presented multiple challenges. L-Acoustics Soundvision software became the team’s essential tool, enabling precise acoustic modelling that validated speaker placement before installation began.
‘We had to be meticulous,’ Valensi says. ‘Our goal was to create an audio experience where every seat feels like the best seat in the house. We needed to cover the entire room – from the front row to the back of the balcony – without visual compromise.’
Sound regulations added another technical challenge, particularly regarding dB(C) measurement. The team had to position subwoofers to meet level constraints while maintaining sound quality. Their solution involved a central cluster of three subwoofers in cardioid mode, requiring the creation of new rigging points to achieve a visually discreet result.
The final installation features LR hangs of one L2D per side, flanked by hangs of two KS21 subwoofers in cardioid mode, a central flown cluster of three KS28 subwoofers, also in cardioid, plus one KS28 at the centre of the stage floor. Two X8 placed on stage left and right provide in fill, woth three X8 across the stage for lip-fill.
The L-Acoustics team were integral to the process, with Valensi praising L-Acoustics training consultant Christophe Chapuis for comprehensive technician training and L-Acoustics Application Engineer Pascal Charousset for meticulous system calibration and fine tuning of the system to meet their exact requirements.
‘This isn’t just a sound system – it’s like we’ve brought a world-class recording studio into a live music venue,’ Valensi says. ‘Visiting sound engineers are initially sceptical when they see the compact set-up but within seconds of hearing it, their doubts vanish. Areas that once presented acoustic challenges are now sonically indistinguishable. We’ve ensured La Cartonnerie’s reputation for exceptional sound and hope it will inspire the next generation of artists and audiences.’
More: www.l-acoustics.com
