The Teatro Gran Rex in Buenos Aires is Argentina’s most famous and prestigious live performance venue. Indeed it is one of the most important tour stops in Latin America, attracting a long and varied list of distinguished international artists. For many years a NEXO installation, Gran Rex has recently upgraded its in-house PA system to the STM Series modular line array.
When the Art Deco style theatre in central Buenos Aires opened in 1937, it was the largest cinema in South America. Designed by the architect Alberto Prebisch, who was also in charge of the construction of the Obelisk, and other significant icons of the city, its 3,300-capacity auditorium drew inspiration from the Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
Miguel Onorato and Angel Itelman from Buenos Aires-based audio specialists Los Angeles Musica, working with the theatre’s directors, specified NEXO’s new flagship PA system. Installed by Iton Group, the unique STM Series modular line array is ideal for the long throw in a large auditorium with two balconies and very high seating at the rear.
The modular line array replaced another NEXO PA system, a GEO T tangent array installed eight years previously. Keen to maintain its reputation as a pre-eminent Latin American venue for touring artists, Gran Rex asked Martin Onorato to design a new house PA using the elements from NEXO’s latest-generation modular technology.
For the main PA, the system uses STM M46 plus B112 bass modules; left and right arrays are made up of 12 sets each. There is a centre cluster of 3x GEO S830 cabinets. Groundstacked below the arrays on each side are 6x STM S118 subwoofers, providing bass response. For sidefill, there are 3x M46 main modules with a single S118 sub on either side of the stage.
The installation has been enhanced with the addition of 6x ID24 Series cabinets across the front of the stage, providing fill for the front rows. The tiny ID loudspeakers can be exchanged for PS10 cabinets, as required. NEXO PS8s provide under-balcony reinforcement.
On-stage, the monitor system can be configured from a stock of 12x 45°N-12 line monitors, 2x PS-15-R2s and 6x PS10-R2s.
At front-of-house, a 72-channel YAMAHA CL5 controls the main PA, with another identical desk to handle monitors. Both consoles have digital and analog connectivity directly into the NXAMP4x4 amplifiers. The digital connections use Auvitran converters to the Dante and Ethersound cards in the NXAMPs.
Martín Onorato
Tel.: (+54) 11 4854-2000
Cel.: (+54) 11 3757 – 6998
Email: [email protected]