Mexico. Located on top of one of the highest hills in the Mexican city of Querétaro, is the architectural complex that houses the Querétaro Teatro Metropolitano (QTM) and the Querétaro Congress Center (QCC), a pair of modern venues that have become venues for concerts, plays and international shows, as well as exhibitions and conferences.
After a first period of operations, which began in 2012, when they opened the doors to the public, their managers decided to renew the audio systems of both spaces, for which they trusted the integrator company Ponle Audio, whose experts chose the technology of Bose Profesional, and particularly the Linear Arrangement System ShowMatch DeltaQ, as the sound heart of the project.
Due to its geographical location and industrial development, Querétaro has become a very attractive city for both convention tourism and large artistic productions and shows. And without a doubt, the QTM and QCC complex, developed by the Government of the State of Querétaro, is essential to complement its offer of venues.
The Querétaro Teatro Metropolitano offers a Main Hall capable of receiving 1,344 people, a large Dance Hall and an avant-garde Experimental Room that extend its variety of services and possibilities of use. Due to its world-class characteristics and technical specifications, the QTM is listed as the fifth best equipped in the country.
The sound renovation of the Querétaro Metropolitan Theater
In 2018, the QTM technical and operations team began an audio system improvement project, with the aim of attracting the production of high-level shows and private events from companies in the region. "The upgrade of the audio equipment was the necessary step to place us at the forefront and thus attract new customers," said Héctor Quintero Martínez, Head of the Operations Unit of the QTM-QCC.
Ponle Audio, an integrator of audiovisual solutions, presented the best proposal in the public tender to carry out the project. This company chose Bose's ShowMatch DeltaQ linear array speaker system technology as the backbone of the system for the Main Room, as well as taking advantage of the versatility of the different RoomMatch Utility models, the power of PowerMatch amplifiers and the capacity of ControlSpace EX processors.
As in many other theaters, the goal of the audio system was focused on delivering great performance in combination with power, intelligibility and coverage capability. One of the biggest challenges was to achieve optimal coverage on the balconies of the third level, located in the highest area of the enclosure, which had not been satisfactorily resolved with the original system installed in 2012.
"In terms of sound, our priorities were coverage and intelligibility," says audio engineer Joel Ramirez, QTM Production Supervisor. "We're very careful about the sound pressure level, so we weren't looking for equipment that just sounded loud, we wanted absolute clarity and that was given to us by Bose's ShowMatch system."
To achieve the highest accuracy, Ponle Audio used Bose Modeler software, a 3D modeling program for acoustic design and analysis, which allows predicting the performance of the sound system.
ShowMatch DeltaQ, the total and integral response
The designed solution included the installation of a linear array system with 14 ShowMatch modules and six SM118 subwoofers on each side of the stage, plus a central cluster with eight other ShowMatch modules. The bass was complemented by a cardiode arrangement of two SM118 subwoofers per side, in infra configuration (below 40 Hz), and a front fill with four SM20 modules to cover the lower front.
The system also includes four modules and a ShowMatch subwoofer on each side of the stage to create a side fill that delivers the right level of sound within the stage.
To overcome the coverage challenge represented by the third level of balconies, Ponle Audio proposed a system suspended from the "cat passage" structure at the top of the room. Three arrangements of two ShowMatch speakers were placed on each: center, left and right. In addition, due to the depth of the third balcony, two ShowMatch speakers were added at its highest. These arrangements are hidden from view, covered with a porous gray mesh, which also serves to give a texture to the roof of the enclosure.
For the more secluded seats in the side areas of the theater, a series of RoomMatch Utility RMU206 speakers were used as a delay, both in the lunette and on the third-floor balcony.
In addition to concerts, plays and conferences, the QTM can also be used as a Dolby Surround cinema. To do this, the three main clusters serve as front channels while various roomMatch Utility box arrays operate as rear ambient surround speakers to achieve 5.1 sound.
With a sum of 58 modules and 18 ShowMatch subwoofers, in addition to 18 RoomMatch Utility speakers, the system operates with a total of 47 Bose PowerMatch PM8500 amplifiers, all with Dante card (500 W x 8 channels at 4 Ohms), which is decisive to manage them integrally from the ControlSpace Designer software.
Dante, looking to the future
From the planning, Ponle Audio was clear that the system had to be flexible, versatile and with multiple possibilities of updating. "From the initial design, we chose to use a Dante network, this allows us to interconnect everything and makes it easier for the operator to execute matrix interactions according to their needs," says Iván Romero, director of Ponle Audio.
Thanks to the Dante network, the audio sources heard in the main room can be sent to the Experimental Room or common areas, and it also allows digital recordings to be made. The theater features two ControlSpace EX-1280C audio processors that offer routing to amplifiers and the aforementioned Dante connectivity.
The results: intelligibility and coverage
"When we switched to the Bose system, the results were noticeable," describes Joel Ramirez, "we have a much more balanced sound, the balance is supported by a much more neutral response. But there are two factors that impacted us: the total coverage of the enclosure and the intelligibility; we enjoyed a sound with outstanding clarity, so equalization in the room is minimal."
Satisfactory results go beyond the technical. According to Héctor Quintero: "The sound and lighting infrastructure put us at the forefront in the Centro-Bajío region. The sound improved substantially and "the word spreads" between producers and entrepreneurs. It's a renewed tool to attract more and better events."
The Experimental Room
Another renovated place was the Experimental Room, a multidisciplinary space for presentations that require a more intimate atmosphere and closeness to the viewer. The room has been used for the recording of TV programs, concerts, round tables, multimedia shows and much more.
In this place, with 305 retractable seats and 325m2, a system of fourteen RoomMatch Utility speakers and six Bose MB210 subwoofers was installed, distributed throughout the different areas of the enclosure. Four PowerMatch PM8500 amplifiers with Dante card and a ControlSpace EX1280-C processor complete the Bose solution, plus a digital console, operating touchscreen and wireless microphone system.
The Dance Hall
This is a hall of 178m2, equipped with staves and mirrors, designed for the rehearsal and pre-heating of the dance companies that are presented at the QTM. In it, a pair of Bose L1 Model II laptops with their small T1 mixer are available to artists or their teachers, who operate them directly.
The Congress Centre
Located in front of the QTM, the Querétaro Congress Center (QCC) building hosts trade fairs and conferences. On its second floor, the QCC has eight rooms that can be used individually or joined to transform into an enclosure for several hundred people. In addition, on the third floor, the QCC offers two additional and independent rooms, all equipped with the same audiovisual systems.
Each of the ten rooms features a Panaray MA12 speaker and a Panaray MB4 subwoofer, wireless microphone system, ultra-short throw projector and electric display. Thanks to the Dante connection it is possible to listen to an audio source or the signal of a microphone in any of the ten rooms or in all at the same time.
The key to good sound: the advice of Bose Professional
In the development of the project, the Ponle Audio team worked hand in hand with the group of Bose Professional specialists in charge of the ShowMatch systems, who were close to their technicians and the staff of the Querétaro Teatro Metropolitano. "We shared all the information, coverage and response maps of the system and they responded with many recommendations, even changes were made in the presets of the ShowMatch boxes of the lateral and central linear arrangements, which was decisive to achieve sound success in this place," concludes Iván Romero.
