Another major European classical music facility has equipped with PMC surround sound monitoring, following the installation of a PMC AML1 active surround system by Austrian Broadcast Corporation (ORF) in its control room facility in the world famous Musikverein concert hall in Vienna. This follows the installation of PMC surround sound monitoring as part of a major refurbishment of teldex recording studios in Berlin, one of Europe's most prestigious classical music studios.

ORF broadcasts concerts regularly from what is widely regarded as the world's best classical concert hall, and began surround sound broadcasts last year with the transmission in Dolby Digital™ 5.1of the celebrated New Year's Day Concert in the famous Golden Hall.

Supplied and installed by PMC's Austrian distributor AViTech, the free-standing surround system comprises five PMC AML1 active loudspeakers, a PMC SB100 subwoofer, powered by a Bryston 3B SST and PMC professional tube stands. The system is used to monitor both 5.1 and stereo transmissions and recordings of classical concerts held in the hall.

AViTech Managing Director, Edvard Potisk, comments, "This installation is extremely important for PMC and AViTech, as it is such a considerable reference project and a considerable reference customer. The ORF is recognised as a pioneer in the application of surround sound in the television field. That's why this fantastic control room is being used for this fantastic hall, and only the best equipment is being used. We are extremely pleased that the PMC monitors are installed here."

Commenting for ORF, Christian Sodl, Production Manager Funkhaus Wien, states, "The monitoring system in the control room can be regarded a technological step into the future. The transparency and sound field localisation enables new possibilities in sound balancing, especially in the field of 5.1. But the bandwidth isn't restricted to classical music. We are confidently looking ahead to a multi-channel future in the broadcast area."

PMC Managing Director and chief design engineer, Peter Thomas, visited the Musikverein control room to hear the results for himself and confirms the uncompromising standards of performance achieved with the monitoring: "The scale of the system belies the size of the room, both in terms of the image and the bass response. An amazingly natural acoustic, perfect for large scale classical work."

The new PMC installation was used for the first time to monitor the broadcast and recording (for DVD) of this year's New Year's Day Concert with the Wiener Philharmoniker.