MAILA makes the game – flexible sound system in the Bonaparte Hall of the Grand Casino Knokke

Thanks to Cheval Blanc Productions and the Grand Casino Knokke, the Belgian coastal town of Knokke-Heist is home to the nation’s largest casino, which is also one of the most traditional addresses for upscale entertainment, art, and events in Belgium. Situated directly on the North Sea promenade, the hotel combines stylish architecture, magnificent halls, and high-calibre events to create an exclusive overall experience. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Bonaparte Hall: a multifunctional event space with club character, a stage, and optional dinner seating – perfect for opulent stage shows, corporate events, and live concerts. The Belgian AV rental company Twin4u recently installed a flexible LD Systems MAILA sound system to take the sound quality of the sophisticated events in the Bonaparte Hall to an exceptional level.

“We were looking for a compact, elegant PA system that was also suitable for immersive applications,” explains Twin4u Managing Directors Christof and Philippe Peirsman. “In many venues, it is difficult to fly larger line array systems – either because of the statics or the lines of sight to the stage or LED walls. MAILA’s slim design and low weight mean it offers the best conditions for this purpose.” The set-up in the Bonaparte Hall was particularly challenging due to the room’s nonsymmetrical shape. To achieve evenly balanced coverage, Twin4u relied on a sophisticated arrangement of main PAs, infills, outfills and delays, ensuring the ideal circumstances for MAILA’s modular design. “The system impressed us not only with its sound quality and speech intelligibility, but also with its clean, modern design – a particularly important aspect to the casino operators.”

“Our crew was surprised at how much power comes from such a lean system.”
Christoph Peirsman, Twin4u

Powerful and flexible

A flown L-C-R array configuration is used in the Bonaparte Hall, consisting of L/R arrays, each with eight MAILA SAT array satellites and one MAILA COL column loudspeaker, as well as a centre hang consisting of four MAILA SAT and one MAILA SPA power amplifier module. Six MAILA SUB 2 × 15″ high-performance bandpass subwoofers placed on the floor on each side provide the necessary bass. The system is complemented by additional infill and outfill sets consisting of three MAILA SATs and one MAILA SPA each, which can be flexibly positioned on stands. Two flown delay arrays (4 × MAILA SAT, 1 × MAILA COL) round off the sound system.

For precise planning and room simulation, the team used the EASE Focus software, supplemented by the MAILA app, to obtain a quick overview of the connection status and levels of all MAILA elements at all times.

The future is immersive

Although MAILA works under acoustically challenging conditions in the Bonaparte Hall, the system is convincing on all levels, for both the audience and the staff. “Our crew was surprised at how much power comes from such a lean system,” says Christoph Peirsman. “And the end customer was delighted with the clarity, range, and speech intelligibility – even at moderate levels.” In the future, Twin4u plans to combine the MAILA set-up with a TiMax immersive audio processor to create a fully immersive sound environment at the Grand Casino Knokke and other shows.