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Jan Kiepura Masovian Musical Theater upgrades with EAW

The Jan Kiepura Masovian Musical Theater, located in the heart of Warsaw’s Praga district, has installed a sound system from Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW). For years, the theater operated with a subleased sound system that delivered strong performance but presented significant coverage limitations.

Due to its size, the previous system had to be hung high, resulting in uneven sound distribution throughout the auditorium. “We either had excellent coverage at the top and average at the bottom, or excellent coverage from the third row to almost the last row”, explains Maciej Marcinuik, Deputy Director for Administration and Investment at the Masovian Musical Theater. “Because we have the orchestra directly in front of the system, we don’t have the possibility to use traditional front-fills. That was our biggest challenge.”

The solution came in the form of the EAW AC6 Adaptive column loudspeaker system. Each compact AC6 column contains six 6-inch low-frequency drivers and a total of thirty high-frequency drivers. Every enclosure features its own onboard amplification and dedicated DSP channels, enabling precise, computer-controlled coverage and optimization. “After the change, we achieved practically the same SPL throughout the entire auditorium”, says Marcinuik. “We measured it at virtually every seat; the difference from the first row to the last is minimal. That level of consistency was exactly what we were looking for.”

The AC6 system’s Adaptive technology allows the theater to manage coverage scenarios entirely through software. With presets loaded directly into the loudspeakers, all system management is handled via computer. Marcinuik explains: “We can use several scenarios. We can play to the stage, to the orchestra pit, to the audience - or only to the audience. Sometimes the orchestra pit is used for additional seating or staging. With two clicks, we can decide whether we’re playing there or not. No mechanical adjustments, just software.”

The theater’s wide-ranging repertoire includes musically and visually complex productions featuring up to 24 condenser microphones in the orchestra pit, plus actors wearing headset microphones moving freely across the stage. “Feedback resistance is something we absolutely have to emphasize”, notes Marcinuik. “Actors sometimes run within a meter or two of the main system with condenser capsules, and they still have complete comfort.”

Beyond performance, aesthetics also played a major role. During one production’s set design phase, the loudspeaker mounting location was found to sit directly behind a scenic element. “The set designer simply designed openings with mesh for the speakers”, Marcinuik recalls. “I know where the system is, but the audience has no idea. It’s completely invisible.”

The installation also includes a Dante-based digital audio network with redundant connections for fault tolerance, ensuring uninterrupted performance in the event of a failure. The system continuously monitors its components, instantly alerting staff to any issues. “If a transducer or DSP module fails, the program informs us immediately and specifies the location”, says Marcinuik. “Then we can press the ‘self-healing’ button, and the system recalculates the beam to compensate. We maintain the same coverage. There may be a slight drop in sensitivity, but coverage remains consistent from the first to the last row.”

(Photos: Eastern Acoustic Works)

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