The newly built Terra Emmen school offers a varied and practical curriculum – including cooking, ‘green subjects’, and sports, alongside more traditional subjects – and, as such, required an audio system that could be as versatile as it was discrete.
After assessing the options available to them, the school’s administrators decided that MM Concept Audio Solutions was the perfect company to assist them in creating an audio infrastructure that could fit into Terra Emmen’s sustainable, forward-thinking ethos.
“The initial brief from Terra Emmen was rather a simple one,” said Mark Molema, CEO of MM Concept Audio Solutions. “At that point, they weren’t being supported by an AV system advisor, which was a huge benefit for us. As far as they were concerned, the functionality and ease-of-use of the system was key, which is a welcome change from the more in-depth or challenging plans we would usually get from typical AV system advisors. The fact that the school trusted our knowledge really allowed us to think outside of the box and come up with a unique way of giving them the functionality they required.”
Molema decided that a number of MAG Audio NX10-8 loudspeakers would be best suited to the job of covering the various zones around the building; a system that was to be driven by Powersoft’s Mezzo 602 A and Mezzo 322 A amplifier platforms.
Mezzo offers the same sound clarity, reliability, and overall build quality of any Powersoft install amplifier, but in a half rack unit form factor. It comes with a state-of-the-art DSP, in two power sizes, with two or four channels of output.
Since their introduction in 2019, the Powersoft Mezzo amplifier platforms have become MM Concept Solutions’ go-to for all fixed installation projects.
“If we need larger amounts of system headroom, we go for the Quattrocanali or Ottocanali platforms, but generally the Mezzo is the one we choose,” said Molema. “It gives us a unique power-to-size advantage, and its class-leading DSP features and Dante integration are always useful.”
Molema also cited Mezzo’s scalability and low-power consumption as major strengths in projects such as Terra Emmen.
“The fixed installation market is getting more and more demanding,” he said. “Clients will often prefer the most compact, cost-efficient solutions available; and Mezzo has a fantastic set of features to accommodate these factors and much more besides.”
The amplifier platforms were incorporated in the control section of the local area network, which allowed them to be remotely operated using the Neets room control system.
“For these types of installations, the ease-of-use has to be exceptionally high in every environment,” said Molema. “Although the school staff have had training in the basic operation of the system, it was important to ensure that they wouldn’t be overawed by it or tempted to try and access any of its critical components. Luckily, the Mezzo platform doesn’t have any functions or buttons on its front panel, so this will never be an issue at Terra Emmen.”
Since the completion of the installation, Molema and his team have already received high praise from the end user. “The system has been great for the school, particularly as it’s so user-friendly. The sonic quality has also been excellent, and the speech intelligibility is fantastic throughout the venue; which is key for announcements, meetings, assemblies, and many more applications besides. It sounds as if they are really enjoying learning how to make the most of it.”
