The struggle is over – LD Systems MAILA at the Tecklenburg open-air theatre

With over 2300 seats, the Tecklenburg open-air theatre in North Rhine-Westphalia is one of the largest open-air music theatres in Germany – and has been operating with a flown LD Systems MAILA PA system in L-C-R configuration since the 2024 summer season. Sven Treeß, who has been responsible for the sound design and FOH mix of the annually changing musical productions for many years, played a key role in the selection and installation of the new system. For the experienced sound engineer, the switch to MAILA marks a turning point in terms of sound on the open-air stage: “With MAILA, my years of struggling with traditional PA systems are finally over.”

High dynamics and resolution

in 2024, audiences at the Tecklenburg open-air theatre had the choice of three musical productions: MAMMA MIA!, 3 MUSKETIERE and MADAGASCAR. MAMMA MIA! and 3 MUSKETIERE, in particular, have the whole works and perform with a live orchestra and choir – a line-up that imposes special requirements on the large open-air stage: “It’s important that a PA system has good fine dynamic resolution and that the vocals and orchestra are transmitted simultaneously with high dynamics and no distortion.” Treeß attaches particular importance to the resolution in the treble range: “Ideally, the treble doesn’t sound like a PA – in the past, I’ve had some bad experiences with horn systems in particular.”

The MAILA setup at the Tecklenburg open-air theatre is based on three arrays for left, centre and right, each consisting of one MAILA COL active column loudspeaker and eight MAILA SAT array satellite speakers. Four MAILA SUB 2×15” high-performance bandpass subwoofers are used on the floor for the bass range, placed in two pairs on the outside of the array towers and towards the centre of the stage. “Right from the start, we liked the fact that MAILA doesn’t look too bulky and can be easily integrated,” explains Treeß.

“With MAILA, my years of struggling with traditional PA systems are finally over.”
Sven Treeß, sound designer for the Tecklenburg open-air theatre

There were two reasons for the decision to change the PA system: firstly, the manufacturer of the old system was no longer able to offer European distribution and secondly, after several years of heavy outdoor use, it no longer met the sound requirements of those involved. “After the system was discontinued, we had to very quickly look around for a new one, and we finally settled on LD Systems and MAILA,” says Treeß. The new sound system was supplied and installed by Kolibri MediaS GmbH from Ibbenbüren, the technical service provider for the Tecklenburg open-air theatre.

Quick setup

As usual, the MAILA system was quick and easy to set up. Once Treeß had entered the theatre’s basic dimensions into the MAILA app, it only took a few hours to set up the L-C-R arrays with the subwoofers. “I was surprised by how well the Auto-EQ works in the MAILA app, and how it takes the angulation of the elements directly into account in the system. In our case, this meant the system was very quickly ready to use with just two minor corrections.” Treeß got help with the calibration from Jens Kleinhuis, pro audio Field Application Engineer and Niko Fuchs, LD Systems Account Manager Germany for the Adam Hall Group.

“With MAILA, I can make mix decisions about the balance much more quickly and intuitively.”
Sven Treeß, sound designer for the Tecklenburg open-air theatre

Better mix decisions

After several months of tightly synchronised operations, Treeß and MAILA are a well-rehearsed team: “With MAILA, I can make mix decisions about the balance much more quickly and intuitively and also listen more closely to the orchestra. This makes it easier for me to bring out the best in both the orchestra and the singers.” To make the sound even finer and sharper, the open-air theatre’s sound designer uses matrices to route signals to the individual arrays. The centre array, for example, receives more solo vocals and less orchestra, while the L/R arrays reproduce more choral elements in order to broaden the sound. “We also use the wide dispersion of the MAILA arrays to provide audience members who are not sitting right in the middle with as much information as possible.”

The new quality and sound transparency is not lost on the audience, either. “People in the audience keep coming and telling us how great the sound is and that the volume is just right.” For Treeß, this is particularly evident in terms of speech intelligibility: “We recently had a long interruption due to rain and had to play on until after 11 pm. In order not to exceed the limit values, I lowered the overall level by more than 10 dB, and you could still hear every word and every detail of the music.”

We were able to film an in-depth video interview with Sven Treeß about his experiences with our MAILA system over the past few months.