System integrator Bansbach Akustik has completed a comprehensive audio update for the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), selecting Powersoft’s Quattrocanali fixed-install amplifier platform to drive a modern, networked conference system designed for ministerial-level sessions and international delegations. Established in 1942, the IICA is an agency of the Inter-American System, an organ of the Organisation of American States (OAS), promoting agricultural development and sustainability in its 34 member states. Bansbach Akustik, which operates in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, is a long-time commercial partner to the IICA and was brought in to manage the upgrade to the agency’s main auditorium, located at its headquarters in the Costa Rican capital, San José.
Akustik was tasked with conceiving and managing the transition from the previous stand-mounted, portable audio set-up to a permanently installed, centrally managed system optimised for speech intelligibility and reliability. At the core of the auditorium upgrade are two Powersoft Quattrocanali amplifiers – one Quattrocanali 1204 DSP+D (1,200W/four channels) and one Quattrocanali 2404 DSP+D (2,400W/four channels) – which power a distributed loudspeaker lay-out and stage monitoring within a reconfigurable auditorium that can be divided into three independently controllable zones. The full IICA system comprises 22 Bose Profession loudspeakers – including 12 ceiling speakers, two linear speakers flanking the main stage, four ceiling-mounted subwoofers and two stage monitors – all coordinated by a Q-SYS Core 110f v2 processor with touchscreen control and Dante audio transport. A Shure SLX-D wireless system and Shure conference system complete the installation.
The Quattrocanali series is designed for small- to medium-scale installation applications, including convention centres, retail stores, theatres and hospitality venues, offering the same high-quality sound and rock-solid reliability of all Powersoft products in a small, lightweight 1RU form factor. DSP+D versions of the amplifier platform extend system performance with support for Dante digital audio networking and on-board high-end signal processing. “We chose Powersoft’s Quattrocanali because its features, the ability to support audio via Dante, the number of channels, and the available power more than met all our requirements,” explains Werner Bansbach, CEO of Bansbach Akustik.
The new sound system made its debut earlier this year and was recently deployed for the first official joint meeting and study tour by government ministers from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), reinforcing collaboration between the IICA and the OESC’s member countries. Bansbach illustrates the significance of the installation for both Akustik and Powersoft: “IICA has 34 member countries, with its headquarters hosting senior officials and international visitors, so the exposure for our company and our technology partners is very broad.”
He further highlights the quality of the Powersoft equipment and the part played in the successful transition to a permanently installed, centralised audio set-up, revealing that IICA officials are full of praise for the Quattrocanali-driven system. “Since the installation, we’ve had excellent feedback on both the high sound quality and the reliability of the equipment,” he concludes.
