Located on the banks of lake Tiefer See, Potsdam’s Hans Otto Theatre and dates back to 1795 when King Frederik Wilhelm II founded The Royal Playhouse on the banks of the Potsdam City Canal. Having changed names and moved to different buildings over the ensuing 200-plus years, the theatre’s current building was designed by Paul Böhm and features three stages that host a wide-ranging schedule that includes theatre classics, drama and ballet, modern experiments, and children’s theatre.

This diverse repertoire led the theatre to search out a versatile concert sound system that would be capable of adapting to various performance styles and audience configurations. Acknowledging the increasing importance of sound design for the modern theatre, the sound department wanted a system that would offer clear, natural sound to each audience member. With a mix of reflective glass surfaces and hanging curtains, the complex venue architecture also acoustic challenges.

The theatre team turned to Hamburg-based L-Acoustics Certified System Integrator Protones, who proposed a design using L-Acoustics L-ISA immersive technology, which won Deputy Head of Sound Engineering, Marcel Schmidt, over with its performance, visual appeal and affordability.

‘When L-Acoustics came to showcase their products, we were enthralled by the simplicity of the L-ISA interface and the immersive sound it delivered to every corner of the theatre,’ says Protones Head of Installation, Felix Vollmer.

The immersive configurations began with five arrays of three A10i Focus and one A10i Wide, with two hangs of two KS21 subwoofers above the main stage. Seven 5XT coaxial loudspeakers are placed across the stage lip for spatial front fill. Ten X8 coaxial loudspeakers placed around the side and back wall create surround sound, while two X12 and 4 X8 provide stage monitoring. The theatre lacked rigging points, but the Protones team were able to find mounting space on the edge of the stage or the orchestra pit parapet, creating special rigging points where mounting space didn’t exist.

‘Hans Otto Theatre requested a sound system that was fully immersive, high-performance, and easy to use. It had to be highly versatile, and we were confident that L-Acoustics would be the right solution,’ Vollmer says. ‘The combination of L-ISA technology with X Series and A Series loudspeakers offers an unmatched immersive audio experience that is appreciated by the audience and crew alike.’