Free University, Amsterdam

January 2011 saw the official opening of “Initium”, a new building at the VU University in Amsterdam. The building’s lecture theatre can accommodate up to 500 students. Following a trend set by many modern football stadiums, the rows of seating were steeply tiered in order to give each student the best possible view. However, what’s good for the eyes isn’t necessarily good for the ears!

The planner specified a sound system to be installed at the front of the lecture theatre, capable of covering the entire width and depth of the room. Microphones would also need to be placed in front of the loudspeakers. Two slim, compact Focus LFI-120 systems with Fohhn Beam Steering Technology have integrated perfectly into the room architecture, providing clear coverage while avoiding the risk of feedback. The speakers’ beam steering capabilities mean that the vertical dispersion angle of the beam can be adjusted to handle the steep slope of the tiered seating. The horizontal beam width of 110° also enables sound to effectively cover the whole room width, allowing students to hear clearly wherever they are sitting.

We congratulate our Fohhn distribution partner Heuff, Maarsbergen, The Netherlands on this successful installation!