November 2009 - CAMCO and its Australian distributor Group Technologies are proud to be chosen as the power amplifier supplier
for the primary AV systems in the new Melbourne Convention Centre.
The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) is the first and only `6 Star Green Star' environmentally-rated convention
centre in the world, and Australia's largest and most versatile convention and exhibition facility.
As such, one of the primary objectives for the complex is to showcase pioneering technology which enhances a world-class
convention centre encompassing thirty-two meeting rooms of various sizes, a Grand Banquet Room and a state-of-the-art Plenary
that can be sub-divided into three self-contained theatres.
The extensive audio-visual installation draws upon different models of power amplifier from the German manufacturer CAMCO to
provide a super-flexible operational functionality. PA systems have been built into every meeting room of the convention centre
which, together with new self-prompting `smart lecterns', offer event organisers and guest speakers unprecedented self-management
capabilities, all monitored in-house via centralised or satellite control rooms.
For the main facilities of the Melbourne Convention Centre, the design premise was to install the highest category of
industry-standard pro-audio equipment to encourage visiting clients to utilise the in-house systems. The very flexibility of the
room configurations set the biggest challenge. It was essential that the Plenary Hall could be operated as a single 5,553
capacity theatre, as well as being sub-divisible into three entirely independent, acoustically-separate theatres, one with
capacity for 2,569 delegates and two for up to 1,507 delegates each.
CAMCO Vortex, Tecton and Q-Power amplifiers have been specified to power the concert sound system in the Plenary, where the main
front-of-house concert system is a substantial line array design, with directional sub-bass, and a large number of fill speakers
to address the balcony and under-balcony areas. Designed with 8 separate arrays, the system can be adapted for different modes of
operation by a simple preset recall within the audio processors. A flexible mixing console system can be patched from simple
show mixing setups to full production setups, with separate front of house, recording and stage monitor consoles, running on a
redundant optical network.
Chosen for their transparent sonic performance, extreme power and ultra reliability, a total of 22x CAMCO Vortex 6 units are used
to drive the 8x front-of-house arrays, with 9x Tecton 38.4 amps for the fill speakers and Q-Power 10 4-channel high-output amps
for the monitor speakers on stage.
There are 32 meeting rooms, classified by capacity into four types. The largest is the Grand Banquet Room, another divisible
space (capacity: 1,500 delegates), which has been equipped with a sizeable line-array sound system, enabling several modes of
presentation. Six small cantilevered meeting rooms are aimed at board meeting style events, the rest of the facilities are
designated as small, medium and large rooms, with the larger spaces sub-dividing to form smaller ones.
The audio systems for all these meeting rooms are nearly identical, although with a varying quantity of inputs and outputs, and
feature Tecton 38.4 amplifiers throughout. These lightweight high-reliability amps are a cost-effective element of the extensive
networked solution, and the 6-year warranty and upgradability provide a future-proof match for the `green' credentials of the
MCEC.
CAMCO's Export Sales Director Mick Anderson offers his own take on eco-friendly power amplifiers. "All CAMCO
products conform to CE / C-Tick / EC Declarations of Conformity and Directives for standards of Security, Emission, Immunity,
RoHS. With a manufacturing and product design principle set firmly within the realms of using technology to maximise process and
result, CAMCO has always taken a very active stance with regards to all related "green" issues. Considerable time and effort is
given to the design and production of our finished goods, while at the same time we pay close attention to how component parts
are made and source. We care about our manufacturing procedures and we care about our world, and we try to maintain a balance
between the two."
More information:
Reiner Sassmann
CAMCO GmbH
Phone: +49 (0) 2762 /
408-0
www.camco.de
Peter Thoms
Group Technologies
www.gtaust.com
Rutledge
Engineering
www.rutledge.com.au
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Inside of Plenary Hall
The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
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