Allen & Heath Qu-16 manages audio at Athletissima

Swiss PA company Auditech employed its newly purchased Allen & Heath Qu-16 compact digital mixer as the FOH mixer at international athletics meet Athletissima. Held annually in Lausanne, Athletissima attracts a host of top athletes and several world records have been set during the games.

The stadium’s FOH audio is divided into 4 zones, 3 (north tribune, round east, round west) fed through an iDR-8 matrix mixer, with the VIP area (south tribune) fed directly from the Qu-16 FOH mixing desk. Speakers comprise an EV rig in the north tribune, Audio Performance in rounds east and west, and a Nexo system in the south tribune.

The Qu-16 manages audio from the commentators stationed in the commentary box and trackside, as well as audio from the giant plasma screens and the closing ceremony finale fireworks. The Qu-16 also feeds commentary to a RTS HD OB truck.

“QU-16’s excellent preamp quality, combined with exceptional EQ and transparent compressor and limiter, helps me to easily cope the commentators voices over the very loud crowd. The compact size of the mixer was also very important as production space is limited. Thanks to the QU-16 no additional outboard gear is needed, there is plenty of headroom to cope with the very loud crowd encouraging the athletes!” explains FOH engineer Roland Dupertuis.