Musiikkitalo, a 1,693-seat concert hall and event venue in the heart of Helsinki, is also home to the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Sibelius Academy.
The exceptional quality of the music performed and broadcast from the venue is matched by the meticulous attention to detail applied to its design.
It is a fully floating building, with a noise floor of just 25 dBA. When sound is this precise, only DiGiCo will do and, as a result, Musiikkitalo is equipped with several DiGiCo consoles, the most recent addition being the Quantum 338T at the FOH position, supplied by INTERSONIC.
Oliver Siitari is head of sound at Musiikkitalo and is responsible for mixing many of the performances in the hall, only stepping back when visiting artists bring their own engineers. For him, DiGiCo represents the perfect combination of flexibility, intuitive workflow and pure power, making its consoles his preferred choice throughout his career.
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We have a Quantum 338T in the main hall and a Quantum 326 in the smaller hall, along with an SD8 that we currently use as a monitor console, although we plan to upgrade it to a Quantum 326 in the coming months. The SD8 is housed in a flip flight case, which allows us to move it easily as needed. We also have an SD9 and an SD11 available for additional support. I’ve worked with DiGiCo consoles for many years, so it’s a very familiar platform for me, and its flexibility, combined with the high number of available channels, makes it an ideal choice for the team, he explains.
Musiikkitalo is a 360-degree venue, with 22 flown PA systems. Thirty microphones, used for broadcast, are suspended from the ceiling to capture the natural acoustics of the space. The DiGiCo network is connected to the broadcast network, allowing flexible routing between the two. As DiGiCo feeds are also used for broadcast, clarity is essential. Supplied by INTERSONIC, each piece of equipment must earn its place in the hall, making the relationship between supplier and client key when making these decisions. As Topi Suuronen, Sales Manager at INTERSONIC, explains, Musiikkitalo is a prestigious venue, so getting it right is especially rewarding.
“Musiikkitalo is the crown jewel of Finland’s music scene. We are pleased and proud that the team has chosen DiGiCo consoles as their mixing solution and that they are satisfied with both the products and our support”.
Everything from mixing consoles to lighting equipment is checked and measured in terms of audibility and RF emissions. Nothing can interfere with the sound of the music, so Siitari relies on robust networking and remote routing to his SD Racks located in soundproof technical rooms outside the main auditoriums.
In the main hall, we have an optical network, along with an auto router and connection points distributed throughout the venue that allow us to connect the SD Racks. From there, we can access wireless microphones or other inputs. The second router acts as a gateway to the network and can be expanded to cover the entire building; we have 11 possible performance spaces, so inputs and outputs need to be available everywhere. We also broadcast live every week, as the Finnish national broadcaster operates here as well, he explains.
The venue maintains a constant level of activity and hosts a highly diverse repertoire, meaning the setup changes continuously between performances. One night may feature orchestral concerts with high channel counts and minimal amplification, while the next could involve pop or techno productions with high amplification levels. In such an environment, a flexible workflow is essential, so Siitari makes full use of all the tools offered by the DiGiCo Quantum 338T.
“The console gives me everything I need and doesn’t limit how I work”, he adds. “The workflow varies greatly depending on the musical genre, but the right tools are always there. One day we might be doing rock or a crossover between a pop artist and a symphony orchestra, and the next, a classical performance where amplification should go completely unnoticed. That’s crucial”.
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The fast turnover of performances and the presence of multiple halls also require a large technical team. Ensuring that the consoles are quick and easy to program, yet robust enough to handle any unexpected issues, is another major advantage of working with DiGiCo.
“There are many users to consider in our environment; it’s one of our biggest daily challenges”, he adds. “We have a base file that includes the Optocore setup with most of the routing already completed. If I need to make changes to that base template, I have to communicate them to a large number of users. We try to maintain a generic template that serves as a foundation for everything, and from there our team or visiting engineers can build. It helps keep things straightforward”.
The use of T software has enabled features that are ideal for the concert hall. With a background in musical theatre, Siitari was already familiar with these capabilities and values the greater flexibility and ease of programming in a concert environment.
My background in theatre makes the T software feel very intuitive, and it includes features that perfectly suit my work here. I frequently use delays at the matrix crosspoints. For example, when a choir needs slight amplification without standing out in the PA, the delay matrix allows me to adjust it precisely without the need for an external system processor. This way, I maintain control over the signal level while also compensating for the acoustic sound with delays. For this type of application, the T software is extremely powerful, he explains.
For Siitari, the Quantum 338T is like another member of the Musiikkitalo audio team and fits seamlessly into the environment thanks to its installation in a custom-made control desk, handcrafted in Finland and designed to match the venue’s colours. Having a consolethat is reliable, easy to program, quiet enough to blend into a symphony and powerful enough to keep up with rock is essential for him. With over 1,300 performances per year, that level of performance is critical.
“The Quantum 338T layout is very flexible. I like that it doesn’t limit where I place my channels or how I route signals. It’s a very fast console capable of handling high channel counts”, concludes Siitari. “Having this console gives us so many options. Whether it’s 50 strings or just four, it doesn’t matter—the workflow remains the same. Because the tools are so good, we don’t have to reinvent everything every day. With over 1,300 performances a year, we need the power, speed and flexibility that DiGiCo provides”.
