Founded in 1817, the University of Liège ranks among Belgium’s top three research universities and holds the 230th position worldwide. The institution serves more than 28,000 students from its main Sart-Tilman campus, its historic city-centre headquarters, and additional campuses throughout Liège Province.
In late 2025, the university upgraded its sound infrastructure across 11 major venues —including the Salle Académique, built in 1824 and listed as exceptional heritage of Wallonia— as well as several important lecture halls and amphitheatres.
The comprehensive installation incorporates L-Acoustics Syva, Soka, 5XT and X6i loudspeakers combined with LA2Xi and LA4X amplified controllers, selected for their speech intelligibility, colinear array technology, and their ability to integrate discreetly into historic buildings.
From 27 brands to one coherent system
The challenge was clear: too many brands, no standardisation, and constant maintenance issues.
Until a few years ago, the audiovisual landscape at the University of Liège was a disorganised mosaic. We had up to 27 different brands across campus. It was overwhelming, explains Arnaud Frederix, AV technician at the university.
This fragmentation created operational inefficiencies, complicated maintenance, and—most critically—risked compromising speech clarity for both lecturers and students. The solution was not simply to acquire new equipment: it required creating a dedicated AV department, establishing clear standards, and selecting partners capable of delivering consistent performance across very diverse spaces.
The university’s approach was comprehensive: in each upgraded venue, all legacy equipment was replaced to ensure full compatibility and uniform performance. "The idea was to improve each room intelligently, using available resources and creating a system that shared functions wherever possible", notes Alexandre Aretz, Sales Manager at XLR.
Why colinear arrays won
The university created its new AV department to manage equipment, ensure interoperability, and oversee budgets. The team included the internal AV staff, L-Acoustics Certified Provider XLR, and integrators ESI Informatique, Wave, Riva and Inytium, all working within the institution’s public procurement framework.
L-Acoustics was chosen as the preferred brand for the most important venues. The 11 installations cover key facilities such as the emblematic Salle Académique, the Noppius, Kurth and Wilmotte amphitheatres, the De Méan auditorium, multiple lecture halls, and the main auditorium at the Gembloux campus.
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In an academic setting, speech clarity is essential. L-Acoustics loudspeakers ensure that information is transmitted clearly, even in acoustically complex spaces. This level of sound quality enhances the learning experience, says Frederix.
Two technical requirements guided the selection: intelligibility and aesthetics. Syva and Soka colinear arrays provide highly controlled vertical directivity, ensuring even coverage across tiered seating while reducing floor and ceiling reflections that muddy speech. Their slim profiles integrate seamlessly into architectural spaces—essential in heritage buildings where bulky systems would be visually intrusive.
"We wanted a system that would deliver exceptional sound quality in a compact and discreet format, aligned with both technical and aesthetic constraints", explains Aretz. "This was especially important in heritage spaces such as the Salle Académique and several amphitheatres".
Soundvision maps the acoustics
Implementing audio systems across multiple campuses required precise modeling. The team used L-Acoustics Soundvision software to model each space, predict coverage patterns, and optimise loudspeaker placement. The 3D simulation allowed them to visualise how sound would behave in very different architectural environments and to fine-tune configurations before installation.
"Soundvision allowed us to carefully map the spaces we were working on, some of which were among the university’s most important and historic", notes Aretz.
Syva and Soka: engineered for speech
The Salle Académique and other halls received Syva and Syva Low systems on the left and right, powered by LA2Xi controllers. Syva’s colinear array design offers very controlled vertical directivity to cover tiered auditoriums and minimise reflections. Its elegant profile allows it to be flown, ground-stacked or wall-mounted depending on each venue’s needs.
The amphitheatre at the Gembloux campus installed Syva and Syva Low with six X6i for coverage above and below the balconies. Other amphitheatres received Soka arrays, with 5XT loudspeakers providing under-balcony and delay coverage. Across all 11 venues, the university installed 15 LA2Xi and LA4X amplified controllers, ensuring consistent power and processing across all rooms.
Technical excellence that works
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The results are measurable: complaints have disappeared and technical interventions are rare. Staff and students now work in an environment that enables them to focus entirely on teaching and learning. The systems have received praise from technicians, architects, and the academic board.
The key to the project’s success has been our collaborative approach: the university, the integrators and XLR have worked together as trusted partners, trained and fully aligned within the L-Acoustics ecosystem, concludes Louis Lukusa, CEO of XLR.
Image descriptions:
- LA_University_Liege_1 ©Alexandre Aretz – The University of Liège installs L-Acoustics Syva and Soka for crystal-clear speech intelligibility across all campuses.
- LA_University_Liege_2 ©Alexandre Aretz – The comprehensive L-Acoustics installation features Syva, Soka, 5XT and X6i loudspeakers.
- LA_University_Liege_3 ©Alexandre Aretz – Two technical requirements drove the selection of L-Acoustics: intelligibility and aesthetics.
- LA_University_Liege_4 ©Alexandre Aretz – The University of Liège upgraded its sound infrastructure across 11 major venues.
- LA_University_Liege_5 ©Alexandre Aretz – L-Acoustics loudspeakers are paired with LA2Xi and LA4X amplified controllers.
- LA_University_Liege_6 ©Alexandre Aretz – L-Acoustics Syva loudspeakers have slim profiles that blend into architectural spaces, essential in heritage venues where bulky systems would be visually intrusive.
- LA_University_Liege_7 ©Alexandre Aretz – Deploying an aesthetically discreet sound system was important in historic spaces such as the Salle Académique and several amphitheatres.
- LA_University_Liege_8 ©Alexandre Aretz – The L-Acoustics sound system allows staff and students to work in an environment that fully supports teaching and learning.
