Toletino, Italy-August 2017… After nearly 65 years, the Teatro Politeama Piceno fell into disuse, a victim of changing times. Determined to restore and update its beautiful 1926-vintage Art Nouveau theater, the central Italian city of Tolentino and private partner Franco Moschini formed the Franco Moschini Foundation and began work in 2014. A series of devastating earthquakes in October 2016 that damaged or leveled many buildings only strengthened their resolve.

After much effort and expense, the Politeama was reborn in May 2017 as a multi-purpose arts center. With a 200 square meter (2,153 square foot) dance studio, 3 rehearsal spaces for music and theater, an audio-visual room that seats 35 people, a 170-seat showroom, and a foyer with cafeteria, the building can now host a wide variety of events and performances.

To serve the contemporary audio needs of this classic theater, Claudio Giacomelli of AV Service designed a new Dante-enabled sound system based on Symetrix DSPs and Attero Tech unD6IO-BT interfaces. Audio engineer Simone Santarelli of AV equipment importer/distributor SISME provided technical support, while engineer Simone Nicoletti helped complete the installation. “The choice of a Dante audio system is due to many factors,” Santarelli explains, “including versatility, signal management ease, reliability, and high sound quality. Dante let us install a complex system that is very easy and efficient to use.”

A Symetrix Radius AES DSP controls the alarm signal, announcements, and background music for the entrance area, cafeteria, and a multipurpose hall. The hall can be divided into two separate rooms with independent audio systems, which can also be combined. Any source in the network can be routed to any output. Two Attero Tech unD6IO-BT Dante wall plate interfaces admit stereo Bluetooth audio on audio channels 1 and 2, enabling background music to be wirelessly routed directly to the Dante network. In addition to feeding the Dante network, the interface routes the audio from channels 1 and 2 to digitally controlled, unbalanced line-level analog output on a front-mounted, 3.5 mm TRS connector. Users can also select, in software, between line-level, unbalanced, stereo RCA inputs; line-level, unbalanced, stereo 3.5 mm inputs; or a combination (RCA-L + 3.5 mm left and RCA-R + 3.5 mm R).

Another Dante network, based on a Symetrix Prism 8×8 DSP, manages audio systems in three multifunctional rehearsal/exhibition/workshop spaces in the basement. These three audio systems can be operated independently or combined, as needed. Presets are managed with a Symetrix ARC-SW4E wall panel.

Finally, the second-floor, 170-seat cinema employs a third Dante network, which employ a Symetrix Radius AEC processor and L-Acoustics loudspeakers and subwoofers. As with other spaces at the Politeama, the cinema is actually a multipurpose room that hosts concerts and theater performances, as well as films.

“We are really happy with the results achieved with the audio system at Teatro Politeama,” reports Santarelli. “Dante technology is developing fast and represents a significant step forward for audio installations. The Attero Tech interfaces provide an extremely reliable Bluetooth connection, and they integrate perfectly with the Symetrix DSPs. These components, along with accurate programming of the processors, enabled us to install a complex system that is very easy and efficient to use.”