With the largest Muslim population in the world, Indonesia’s mosques are many – both old and new. Among the newest, the Masjid Raya Pontianak mosque in Pontianak, west of Kalimantan opened in January 2015 complete with an impressively high-end audio installation.
A long-time Symetrix system user, Jakarta-based A/V supplier and installer PT Gracia Auvindo handled the installation and the brief to ensure that prayers and meetings in the new facility could be heard as clearly as possible. Company Director Adi Widjaya chose a Symetrix DSPs to provide the simple yet robust audio processing and distribution required throughout the 3,600-sq-m site.
‘We created a four-zone section in the salat (prayer) area as well as one zone for the minaret, and the Symetrix Jupiter 8 fixed-architecture DSP was invaluable in helping us to achieve seamless time alignment between each area,’ he says. ‘Meanwhile, the selection of an ARC-2e Adaptive Remote Control wall-panel enables the user to have straightforward control of basic parameters – such as switch on/off and gain control – for each zone.’
Favouring the Symetrix Jupiter 8 for its ‘very flexible programming capability’, Widjaya regards the processor as having been a key asset during the three-month timescale for the installation – the app-based nature of Jupiter, which enables users to download pre-designed configurations from the Symetrix website – was a particular benefit. Alongside the Jupiter 8, Widjaya specified Audix wireless mics, more than 30 dB Technologies loudspeakers, and a Midas Venice mixing console.
The installation was completed shortly before the mosque’s opening by President Widodo, and feedback from visitors since has been highly positive: ‘Definitely a large part of that success is down to the Symetrix DSP,’ Widjaya reports.
‘We knew from previous projects that the Jupiter 8 would provide the right blend of routing capability, flexibility and robustness – and that has proven to be the case. The Symetrix products lend themselves to so many different types of project, so there’s no doubt that they will be finding their ay into our future installations.’
