Yamaha and Nexo Bring State-Of-The-Art Sound To Arena Pays d’Aix

Arena Pays d'Aix is a state-of-the-art, multi-purpose venue which can house audiences of up to 8500. Designed to host a wide range of events, a Yamaha and Nexo audio system delivers high quality, flexible audio throughout the arena complex.

Located close to the southern French city of Aix-en-Provence, the outside of Arena Pays d'Aix presents a futuristic vision, its clean, sweeping lines contrasting with the surrounding countryside of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It has quickly become a popular destination for sport and entertainment from throughout the region, including nearby Marseille, France’s third largest city.

Designed by architect Christophe Gulizzi, the vision of the future continues inside, where a modular format allows the 4000㎡ interior space to offer 17 different configurations, depending on the type of event being hosted.

The main space (Grande Salle, unofficially nicknamed The Cauldron) is the home of the Pays d'Aix University handball club, which competes in Division 1 of the Ligue Nationale de Handball. Featuring an audience capacity of up to 7000, it can be configured to host a wide range of other events, including tennis, wrestling, indoor motocross, live concerts, ballet and much more.

Arena Pays d'Aix also features a secondary arena (Salle Annex) with room for up to 1500 spectators, as well as three exhibition / event spaces which can hold up to 450 people each, bars / concessions and a press room. The main concourse (La Coursive) can also be used to host events, with a capacity of 1800 people.

The venue’s interior designer Kanju commissioned consultants Solus3 to design the AV systems. Solus 3 approached Aix-en-Provence based systems integrator Société Texen to deliver a solution where flexibility and quality were the most important features.

Texen’s Thomas Goeuriot recommended a Dante-networked Yamaha and Nexo system, which is centred on four ‘nodes’ installed throughout the venue, each comprising a system rack with a MTX5-D matrix processor, XMV series amplifiers, 24 port switches and, where required, Tio1608-D i/o racks.

All areas apart from The Cauldron feature Yamaha loudspeakers, including VXC5F-VA (voice evacuation model) and NS-IC400 ceiling speakers, VXS1ML and VXS3FT compact surface mount models.

In The Cauldron, 30 Nexo GEO S12 loudspeakers delivers high quality sound to sport and event audiences. Arrayed as 10 flown clusters of three around the edge of the arena floor, they are powered and controlled by NXAMP 4x4 and NXAMP 4x1 amplifiers.

“Many manufacturers approached us to provide the Cauldron system,” says Thomas Goeuriot. "Coverage and intelligibility were really important and Nexo provided the best technical solution. The GEO S12 speakers cover low enough frequencies without needing subs and they provide seamless coverage to every seat.”

Meanwhile, in addition to the installed VXC5F-VA and NS-IC400 ceiling models, the Salle Annex features four CBR15 loudspeakers, driven by P7000 amplifiers, for added audio power and depth for sports training sessions, plenary sessions and other events.

A TF5 digital mixing console was also supplied, which can be plugged into the system for local mixing in any area. The press room features a pair of VXS8 loudspeakers for event monitoring, with the system also providing broadcast I/O.

“Arena Pays d'Aix has the most modern, high quality facilities installed throughout and the audio system is fundamental to delivering the best experience to all users,” says Yamaha’s Pascal Bessenet. “The entire audio system was single-sourced from the Yamaha and Nexo family, delivering not only high quality sound, but exceptional flexibility and reliability. We know these qualities will serve the Arena well for many years to come.”

Audio equipment at Arena Pays d'Aix

Nodal racks (four):

1 x Yamaha MTX5-D matrix processor
2 x Yamaha XMV-8220 amplifier
2 x 24 port switches

The Cauldron:

1 x Yamaha MTX5-D matrix processor
1 x Yamaha MY8-DA96 interface card
30 x Nexo GEOS12 loudspeakers
2 x Nexo NXAMP 4X4
1 x Nexo NXAMP 4X1
1 x 24 port switch

Salle Annex:

1 x Yamaha MTX5-D matrix processor
1 x Yamaha XMV-8220 amplifier
2 x Yamaha P7000 amplifiers
20 x Yamaha VXC5F-VA ceiling loudspeakers
18 x Yamaha NS-IC400 ceiling loudspeakers
4 x Yamaha CBR15 loudspeakers

Exhibition spaces (three):

1 x Yamaha MTX5-D matrix processor
2 x Yamaha XMV-4280 amplifier
20 x Yamaha VXC5F-VA ceiling loudspeakers
1 x 24 port switch

La Coursive and concessions:

50 x Yamaha NS-IC400 ceiling loudspeakers
45 x Yamaha VXC5F-VA ceiling loudspeakers
8 x Yamaha VXS3F surface mount loudspeakers
4 x Yamaha VXS1ML surface mount loudspeakers
2 x DCP1V4S control panels

Press Room:

2 x Yamaha VXS8 loudspeakers
1 x Yamaha PX3 amplifier

Control Room:

1 x Yamaha TF5 digital mixing console
1 x Yamaha MTX5-D matrix processor
1 x 24 port switch

TF Series

TF series consoles take live sound reinforcement to a new level of refinement with TouchFlow Operation™, recallable D-PRE™ preamplifiers, advanced processing and much more.

MTX Series

MTX Series matrix processors are equipped with flexible processing functions that are essential to a wide variety of applications.

XMV Series

XMV Series multi-channel power amplifiers combine Class-D efficiency with features designed specifically to benefit commercial installation sound systems.

PX Series

The versatile PX series power amplifiers lineup combines intelligent processing with high output power to meet the requirements of a vast range of sound reinforcement environments.

P-S Series

Versatile I/O and Yamaha Speaker Processing in power amplifiers that deliver high performance as well as economy.

Tio1608-D

The Tio1608-D is a Dante-equipped I/O rack with 16 microphone/ line inputs and 8 line outputs.

VXS Series

The VXS Series lineup features two full-range models and two subwoofers, allowing you to choose the optimal model for a particular application and, if necessary, combine it with a subwoofer for venues that require a stronger bottom end.

VXS Series "F model"

VXS-F compact surface-mount speakers feature attractive, discreet design and premium sound tuning for refined background music in elegant spaces.

VXS Series "M model"

VXS series “M models” combine sophisticated sound and design in compact surface-mount speakers that will make a significant contribution to the most refined, elegant spaces.

VXC Series "F model"

VXC series "F model" low-profile ceiling speakers can easily adapt to the strictest installation limitations, ensuring superb audio performance wherever they’re placed.

CBR Series

Versatile CBR Series loudspeakers deliver outstanding audio performance for a wide range of applications including front-of-house sound, floor monitoring or installations.

Aix-en-Provence, France