Often described as one of Quebec’s leading cultural ambassadors, the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal’s (OM) philosophy for promoting symphonic music hinges on public engagement.
Founded in 1981, the OM’s approach has always been predicated on ‘creating strong ties’ with as wide a cross-section of people as possible. One of their most popular efforts in doing so is an annual summer concert held at the foot of Mount Royal.
This year’s concert drew an estimated 60,000 people and is the fourth year Montreal’s HQ Audio has been hired by the OM to design and provide the audio system. Each year, they’ve deployed a Meyer Sound PA, but 2025 was their first year utilizing a Meyer Sound PANTHER PA.
Given HQ Audio's reliance on Meyer Sound, DiGiCo, and DPA products, the relationship with GerrAudio has been instrumental in HQ Audio’s growth since the company’s inception in 2021 - helping HQ Audio address similarly challenging deployments and providing responsive support as necessary.
“Gerr’s been very supportive of HQ’s needs, and their product lines, whether it's Meyer Sound, DiGiCo, or DPA – really fit what we do,” says HQ Audio’s Sam Morrisson, who oversaw the creation and design of the rig.
Leveraging PANTHER improved sound quality overall, particularly over distance, he continues: “We used PANTHER and 2100-LFC subs for the main rig, in part, because we really wanted to try this style of classical music with PANTHER, since it's so clear and transparent. And it was a great success; the clarity of it was on another level.”
He adds that the far-field sound was rounder and more complete. “We had to move the delay towers to go a bit further this year, and the PANTHER (mains) really helped there. The horns are so controlled, it was very clear right to the first and even further than the first delay towers, which made the transition very nice between the PANTHER and the LYON delays.”
With its unique placement of low-mid transducers and an optimized high horn, when PANTHER is deployed in an array of four units or longer, the result is a controlled cardioid polar pattern at low frequencies. That cardioid pattern remains consistent at all SPL levels (including when pushed into limiting), ensuring audiences hear every note with no unwanted reflections or spill.
The result – more directional low end and limited low-frequency spill on stage, made it easier for the OM’s FOH Engineer, Guy Hebert, to achieve the necessary amount of gain before feedback and coverage for the site.
Morrisson details the system layout: “For mains, it was 12 PANTHER boxes per side (10L and 2W elements at the bottom, augmented by LINA front fills). Additionally, per side, 6 2100-LFC subs were placed in a gradient configuration.”
Four delay towers (2 per side) were outfitted with 8 LYON loudspeakers each. “And I added a down fill to each tower, either an ULTRA-X40 or a UPQ-D1 or D3, depending on where the delay was. We also had two more delays, Meyer Sound CAL-64s for people sitting very far away, and an additional CAL-32 to cover the VIP section.”
Morrisson praises the 2100-LFCs for their quick response and the definition of the Meyer Sound rig overall. “Having the PANTHER and the 2100-LFCs really helped with the lows and low mids,” he says, adding that the loudspeakers had to be extremely precise to effectively reproduce the precision of the orchestra itself.
The goal, as always, was ensuring the system augmented, rather than distracted from the impression the orchestra was performing in a venue that required no sound reinforcement. “That was an important objective – to keep the image coming from, not just the stage, but as if it's coming from the instruments themselves; like they’re not amplified and mic’d up. The PANTHERs and 2100-LFCs made it easier to get that authentic feeling – that natural sound.”
Multiple Galileo GALAXY processors were also deployed: two per side for the mains (controlling each individual box in the arrays) and one per delay tower. “It's a huge site, so going AVB between the GALAXY processors made our lives easier because we only had to use one optical fibre quad between them, and had feed going from anywhere to everywhere,” he continues.
The compact footprint and lower weight of PANTHER also helped, given the challenging site, the need to construct custom delay towers, and move elements around what is, essentially, a large, open, and not particularly level area.
Another benefit of using Meyer Sound products exclusively, Morrisson notes, is that, although the company consistently ups its game with each new product release, PANTHER loudspeakers
are easily paired with older Meyer Sound loudspeakers, owing to the GALAXY processor’s Product Integration’ feature, which allows users to match older and newer products.
“As I said, we had some Meyer Sound MSL-4s. But although they’re not the same generation of speakers, it was still very easy to make them all live together. The older speakers may not have the same frequency response natively, but they're still very phase-coherent and linear, so it's easy to shape their tone to resemble PANTHER.”
Hebert concurs, citing the ease the system provided in dealing with an unpredictable environment: “You're always fighting the weather, but it was easier with this PA. For example, on the day of the show, it started out hot and humid. Then we had rain and wind. The temperature was constantly changing, but the kit performed beautifully.”
HQ Audio being, generally speaking, a DiGiCo house, and Hebert having a preference for the platform, a DiGiCo Quantum 338 and SD Rack with 32-bit preamps was chosen for FOH. Given the dynamic range the preamps provide, particularly for an orchestra, the SD Rack’s 32-bit converters were ideal, he says: “The strings can be very soft – just a little cloud of strings. And then you’ll have pizzicatos from the Altos, or an English horn shining through softly. But then we’ll kick into something like Stravinsky that's very powerful and dynamic.”
A number of DPA microphones were also deployed, which Hebert praises for their compact footprint, minimal invasiveness for players, and, naturally, their sound.
“I used DPA 4011s as the main pair over our conductor for the whole orchestra to get a pure sound and a clear picture of what I want sound-wise. Then I fill in using 4011s as spot mics in different places, 4055s on drums, and sometimes I'll use 4098s on the Altos, because the hyper cardioid pattern will have more rejection from the back where the horns are shooting into the Alto section. They help with that.”
Additionally, Hebert says, “Sometimes with super cardioid or other microphones, the off-axis sound is a bit ‘phasey’ and when you blend several mics, you get this weird sound. But with DPA, you get a nice crossfade from one mic to the next, and it stays coherent and pure; the high end will be clear and crisp, not harsh. You also won't get muddy low mids, and the low end will be nice and full. So, that's why I go for the DPA.”
While in this situation and others requiring sound reinforcement, as when the OM performs at Salle Wilfred Pelletier, Hebert uses other mics as well, but DPA mics remain a go-to. “They're so well made, even if they're not a matched pair, there won't be much of a difference.”
That’s critical for translating or reinforcing the personality of the OM as intended by Principal conductor, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, without getting in the way.
Although for this application significant audio infrastructure is necessary, “In the concert hall, we don't mic things,” Hebert concludes. “You don't need sound reinforcement in a symphony hall. That's the other reason I'll use a combination of the DiGiCo 32-bit converters with the DPA mics and the (PANTHER) system. The dynamic range and speed of the PA, because we're working with a symphony, and Yannick, the way he plays the symphony is so dynamic, you need something that will pick that up and deliver it properly.”
Orchestre Métropolitain Achieves Natural Sound with Meyer Sound PANTHER