COPENHAGEN — DPA Microphones CEO Christian Poulsen noted that “due to contractual reasons,” none of its mics were used by performers at the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest, staged at B&W Halls, not far from DPA’s headquarters in Denmark. Even so, the company’s d:screet Supercardioid Miniature Podium Microphones were used within the press room used at the event, which wrapped up on May 10.
More details from DPA Microphones (www.dpamicrophones.com):
As Europe braces itself for the annual spectacle that is Eurovision Song Contest, DPA Microphones is already playing a key part in this musical extravaganza by providing the company’s d:screet Supercardioid Miniature Podium Microphones in the official press room. The venue for this year’s contest is the B&W Halls in Copenhagen, where the press conferences are being held in a separate, specially-equipped auditorium. . Introduced last year, DPA’s new podium microphones give AV installers and conference organizers the clear, transparent and precise sound for which the company is famous.
Bent Iversen, Key Account Manager for leading Scandinavian PA company, DPA Soundco (which, despite the similar name, is not affiliated with DPA Microphones), is the main sound technician for the press room. He feels that DPA Microphones’ new podium microphones are ideally suited for the job and for the room acoustics.
“We installed 20 d:screet Podium Microphones, which were specified by broadcast rental company Best Broadcast Hire (BBH),” explains Iversen. “These are positioned on the press table where they are mounted on K&M table bases. Most of the people taking part in the press panels are musicians who have a tendency to be quite loud. So, we needed microphones that could cope with a loud monitor system and sudden changes in volume. We also wanted microphones that could handle a situation where singers decide to sing as well as speak, which does sometimes happen at Eurovision press conferences.”
“As a Danish company, we are naturally delighted that our new podium microphones are playing an important part in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest,” adds Christian Poulsen, CEO of DPA Microphones. “Of course, we would have loved to see the artists also using our d:facto Vocal Microphones or d:fine Headset Microphones on stage, but sadly this isn’t possible due to contractual reasons. However, we can guarantee that the sound coming from the press room will live up to DPA’s – and Denmark’s – high standards.”
Iversen explains that while DPA Soundco has an extensive stock of DPA Microphones products, which they use for music festivals, band tour production and corporate events, they won’t be able to make full use of their stock for this event. “The main Eurovision show won’t be using any instrument microphones because 99 percent of what the audience hears is playback,” he explains. “The handheld artist mics are specified by Eurovision as part of a deal they have with another manufacturer, but if it was my choice, I’d be using the new DPA d:facto Vocal Microphones on a Wisycom wireless system.”
The Danish Broadcasting Corporation, Danish Radio, which is hosting the event, already owns more than 200 wireless Wisycom systems, so it would have been the natural choice if contractual circumstances hadn’t made this impossible.
