
Located in the eastern Dutch town of Hengelo, the Metropool is a long-established live music venue featuring a huge range of acts and genres. It moved to its present home in 2009 and at that point its console stock was updated to include three DiGiCo SD8s and a large-format analogue desk, covering all its audio mixing needs across its Jupiler and Jack Daniels halls. They were one of the first Dutch venues to invest in DiGiCo technology as Teun Zekhuis, their Head Technician recalls: We chose the SD8 for its sound, interface, workflow and overall look and feel. Being one of the first stages in the Netherlands with this first series of SD8s we were really pioneering in a new world of digital audio. The SD8s proved to be a great choice and served us very well.
Fast forward nine years to 2018 and through a series of events, Metropool found itself taking over the business of Atak, a venue for pop music, creating Metropool | Pop stages of Twente. The audio equipment we inherited at Enschede confirmed that we made a good choice back in 2009; unlike ours, it had not withstood the test of time! So, one of the first things we did in Enschede was to replace the consoles, Zekhuis continues. Having DiGiCos in Hengelo, the choice for a new series of DiGiCos in Enschede was obvious; why change a winning formula? But to be sure we checked a few competitors and concluded that there was no other brand with a product line so compatible with our business, both affordable and quantitive. So, in 2018 we chose an SD5 for front of house in the Hertog-Jan hall (850 capacity) an SD10 for FOH for the 350-capacity Saxion Hall and SD12s for monitors in both rooms. We also bought an SD11 for the Muziekcafe which can hold up to 100 people.
Then, in 2020 back at Metropool we purchased another set of DiGiCo consoles: the Jupiler hall (850 capacity) now has a Quantum 338 for front of house with an SD12 on monitors, the Jack Daniels hall (cap: 250) uses an SD10 for front of house. Both rooms have SD12s on monitors and in the Muziekcafe it's an SD11.
Zekhuis shares his vision for presenting and maintaining contemporary performance venues in technical terms. We run an average of 500 shows a year and have many volunteers and freelancers at work, he says. In order to guarantee continuity in personnel and to keep the workflow constant, we have chosen to provide the same audio quality in all rooms, optimally realised in audio terms due to the Stadius 32-bit pre-amp technology in the racks. Besides that, all the mixers and workflows on the stages are adjusted to each other, which means that when you know how to handle monitors on one stage you also know how it works on all the other stages. The same goes for FOH we want to keep it as simple and plug-and-play as possible, which saves time in setup and gives the artist more time to prepare and perform.
Meanwhile in Enschede some 10km away, Wilminktheater en Muziekcentrum, a major regional facility encompassing several rooms of varying sizes and which presents everything from rock and roll to comedy, opera, theatre, ballet, conferences, cabaret, jazz and classical music, was also in the process of upgrading its technical infrastructure. These two organisations in two different cities combined forces through municipal budgets and clever in-house solutions to realise their respective goals.
We were looking for an upgrade on our mixing consoles, explains Eelco Braakhuis, the main engineer and audio specialist for the Wilminktheater en Muziekcentrum. The guys from Hengelo already knew DiGiCo so for them it was a no brainer in the search. For us also it was a console we knew and are very pleased with as we already owned two. It ticked all the boxes in terms of usability because we have a wide variety of shows that we produce ourselves, so we needed a console that is as flexible as it can be. Anything you can come up with in audio routing and processing, a DiGiCo can do it!
DiGiCo made a huge step up in audio quality with their new 32bit Stadius cards and we were very pleased with the sound it delivers. Combining it with Waves plugins and with the ability to go to immersive audio already in the console's software is very nice to have. It takes us a step forward to the future of theatre and opera.
Braakhuis notes that Wilminktheater en Muziekcentrum has a crew that all have to know how a console works, and it was easy for them to get used to the new DiGiCos.
We chose the SD10 for our main auditorium and two S21s for our small auditorium and church where we host mostly classical music, and a SD11 for flexible use in front of the house or during small conferences, he adds. So now here in Enschede we have six rooms with a total of ten DiGiCo consoles, all equipped with various racks including SD, D2 and D types. The different consoles have been very consciously chosen for the individual rooms, so they exactly meet the needs of each. It also makes it possible to use the different consoles in different rooms, entirely according to the technician's wishes.
As this is a purchase that was made by the city council, we had to do an inventory of pricing from three different companies, Braakhuis notes. The Ampco Flashlight Sales team made us a very good offer, they also know the consoles inside and out and do all the technical maintenance for DiGiCo in the Netherlands. This made them a good partner in our purchase. They handled everything very well for us during finalising the order and helped us create a great set of mixing consoles.
At Ampco Flashlight we're thrilled to have worked with both Metropool and Wilmink for the last two decades and that we've had the chance to extend and fortify our relationship with these beautiful DiGiCo-setups in both venues, concludes Bart van der Smissen, Product Manager Audio for Ampco Flashlight Sales. Ensch
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
17/04/2026
The World Fencing League (WFL) has announced DAZN as its primary global streamin...
17/04/2026
ARRI Releases ALEXA 35 SUP 6.0 and LPS-1 SUP 1.3 Software Updates
ARRI has announced software updates for its ALEXA 35 Live camera and Live Production System L...
17/04/2026
Sennheiser has announced Spectera Studio, an offline system planner for its Spec...
17/04/2026
Deltatre and the German Football Association (DFB) have announced DFB.TV+, a DFB-owned direct-to-consumer streaming service developed and operated by Deltatre. ...
17/04/2026
Global sports marketing agency IMG has announced new senior leadership roles, designed to strengthen how it supports rightsholders and partners in the midst of ...
17/04/2026
NAGRAVISION and Harmonic have announced a watermarking-as-a-service solution for...
17/04/2026
NETGEAR and EVS Broadcast Equipment have announced a global technology partnersh...
17/04/2026
America's broadcasters are launching the NEXTGEN TV Converter Box Program, a new initiative designed to provide millions of American viewers with a low-cost...
17/04/2026
Quantum Corp. will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth N1726), presenting what it ca...
17/04/2026
Leadership and Staff Announce '20/20 Vision' Playbook...
17/04/2026
TNT Sports has announced a multi-year agreement for U.S. media rights to the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). Three events will air on truTV - the 24 Hou...
17/04/2026
Scripps Sports has announced a multi-year broadcast partnership with PBR (Profes...
17/04/2026
Adder Technology, a specialist in connectivity solutions and high performance IP KVM, today announced the latest release of AIM, its IP KVM matrix management so...
17/04/2026
Victory , a free sports streaming platform from A Parent Media Co. Inc. (APMC), has announced a multi-year content distribution partnership with the Dallas Cowb...
17/04/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level have one major thing in common: the intensity and attention to detail ramps up dur...
17/04/2026
Quickplay has announced the full-scale deployment of Gray Media's streaming ...
17/04/2026
Clear-Com has introduced the FreeSpeak Cell cellular-based wireless intercom system that uses LTE and 5G infrastructure to support large-scale production commun...
17/04/2026
The 2026 NAB Show kicks off Saturday, April 18, with the show floor and exhibits opening April 19-22 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show features more ...
17/04/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
17/04/2026
Versatile ribbon mic kit revealed
The latest arrival to the AEA line-up brings together three contrasting models from their Nuvo range, delivering a versati...
17/04/2026
Revealed following sold-out MPG Awards ceremony
Following another sold-out MPG Awards ceremony at The Troxy in London, the MPG have released a full list of ...
17/04/2026
L3Harris towed array systems provide U.S. Navy submarines with extended acoustic...
17/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
17/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
17/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
17/04/2026
Cobalt Digital and SineSix Media Partner to Transform Accessibility Compliance into a More Engaging Viewer Experience at NAB Show 2026
Collaboration integrates...
17/04/2026
Strengthening Appear's North America team with a new Vice President of Business Development
Appear ASA (Appear, OSE: APR), a global leader in live producti...
17/04/2026
New framework helps broadcasters, streaming platforms, and sports organizations apply AI to live video for monetization, metadata, highlights, and downstream wo...
17/04/2026
New whitepaper gives broadcasters and OTT operators independent, codec-by-codec evidence that the VisualOn Optimizer transforms viewer quality of experience.
V...
17/04/2026
Blackmagic Design Announces New Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive 100G
Brie Clayton April 17, 2026
0 Comments
World's first immersive cinema camera f...
17/04/2026
NAB 2026: Vubiquity and Eluvio Showcase Streaming Solution that Significantly Re...
17/04/2026
What Makes a Good Marathon Running Playlist? We asked Xander Dawson, an eighth-semester saxophone major at Boston Conservatory running the Boston Marathon thi...
17/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
17/04/2026
At NAB Show 2026, PTZOptics (Booth N1902) will showcase a live sports streaming demo created in collaboration with Moondream, offering a new look at how Visual ...
17/04/2026
The Eindhoven University of Technology is a research university in the Netherlands spanning 25 buildings, specialising in engineering, science and technology. D...
17/04/2026
Documentary Editor - US, Remote
Brie Clayton April 17, 2026
0 Comments
Documentary Editor
April 13, 2026Freelance Video Cameraman - Los......
17/04/2026
Blackmagic Design Announces New Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF 100G
Brie Clayton April 17, 2026
0 Comments
Revolutionary digital film camera brings cinem...
17/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
17/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
17/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
17/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
17/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
17/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
17/04/2026
Dubformer, the AI-powered dubbing platform, and Adapt, a global leader in AI-driven localization and dubbing solutions, have enabled Goalcast, the inspirational...