KLA Active Line Array Loudspeaker System Brings Clarity to Lectures at German Technical College

Münster, Germany (March 2012) – The Fachhochschule (technical college or University of Applied Sciences in English) here in north-west Germany has installed a KLA Series Fixed Arcuate Active Line Array loudspeaker system in one of its largest lecture theatres. The system has improved clarity and comprehensibility of lectures considerably, as well as providing a better quality of PA for musical events, according to the college's Head of IT, Heinz Schlattmann.

Now one of the largest and most successful Technical Colleges in Germany, the Fachhochschule (or FH) in Münster was founded over 40 years ago. As in many locations in Germany, the FH principle — which is to insist upon the highest standards in all its areas of operation — has been highly successful here. The recent root-and-branch upgrade of the college's audio infrastructure is wholly in keeping with this philosophy, having been thoroughly planned down to the last detail. The end result is the installation of the very latest state-of-the-art equipment in the lecture theatres, including the KLA Series.

The Audimax Hall, located in the town of Steinfurt to the north-west of Münster, is just one of 43 lecture theatres at the Münster FH, and it is one of the largest. The KLA loudspeaker system has been installed there as part of the upgrade, in the interests of doing justice to the considerable acoustic requirements of the room. The pitched rows of seating, rising towards the back of the chamber in classic lecture theatre fashion, provides an acoustic challenge to any PA system, as does the vast size of the room. Spoken lectures also have to be equally comprehensible to all of the potential 200 occupants of the theatre, no matter which of the 12 rows they are seated in, and the PA has to be equally capable of handling musical events, delivering sufficient level and a clear, undistorted sound.

The KLA Active Line Array system installed in the Audimax Hall consists of six 1000W KLA12 full-range elements, arranged as two columns of three either side of the presentation area, facing the students and at a height of about five metres off the ground. The high quality sound is uniformly comprehensible from all seating positions thanks to the combination of the KLA12's 90-degree horizontal dispersion and 54-degree vertical dispersion. Intrinsic Correction™, a patented DSP audio correction process unique to QSC, ensures a clear and faithful reproduction of the audio signal.

With a frequency range of 44Hz to 20kHz, the KLA12 was designed to be used for musical events as well as those featuring only the spoken word. The built-in patented QSC DEEP™ function (Digital Extension and Excursion Processing), can be engaged, enhancing the lowest frequencies, making for a more powerful bass, and allowing the system to deliver balanced high-quality sonics across the full frequency range, even without a subwoofer.

Heinz Schlattmann, Head of the IT Department at Münster, comments: "The acoustics in the Audimax have improved by a considerable margin; the former electro-acoustic speakers here were already over 20 years old and no longer really fit for purpose. The Professors here — and their listening public, the students — are all very excited about the new QSC PA system.