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Holoplot X1 Modul 96 (MD96) — manufacturer technical drawing·HOLOPLOT GmbH·© HOLOPLOT GmbH; used for identification and historical commentaryWhy it mattered
- 01
Applied independent amplification and processing across a dense two-dimensional driver matrix.
- 02
Combined 3D beam forming with wave field synthesis at unprecedented large-venue scale.
Engineering record
- Driver control
- An X1 Modul 96 contains as many as 96 individually amplified drivers, including 80 high-frequency units.[3]
- Sphere scale and differing counts
- HOLOPLOT's case study reports 1,578 X1 modules across the venue and behind its LED surface. Sound on Sound's January 2024 production account separately reports 1,534 fixed and 300 mobile modules (Modul 96 and Modul 80-S), with 167,000 drivers. These are differing source-specific counts, not interchangeable cabinet and driver totals.[4][1]
Original pricing
No public retail price located
2026 equivalent
Not calculated without a reliable original price.
X1 systems are engineered and quoted per project.
Use in the field
Early public applications included DARK MATTER in Berlin. Sphere opened with U2 in September 2023, using X1 behind the LED surface for concert coverage and selected spatial effects.[5][4][1]
U2's production prioritised clarity and musical contrast over continuous surround effects. The Eagles' engineer Tom Evans later described using an SSL Live L550 Plus and 64 aux sends for 42 speaker zones, automated song by song: a console-and-routing workflow rather than a claim that every concert used one object-rendering method.[1][2]
Professional reactions
Release-period reaction · January 2024
The Edge valued the clarity that allowed very quiet passages to carry, creating a contrast between loud and soft that could be lost in stadiums. He stressed emotional connection and avoided letting the available spatial effects become gimmickry.
Release-period reaction · January 2024
O'Herlihy regarded the system as the sort of development concert audio had awaited for a long time. His excitement centred on sonic quality and giving the audience a better listening perspective, not simply on the number of loudspeakers.
Later field experience · 5 November 2025
Evans rebuilt the Eagles' mixes for Sphere, routing 64 console aux sends to 42 zones in front of, behind and above the audience. Song-by-song automation let an input move between locations while the band's familiar recorded sound remained the priority.
Manuals & original documents
Sources
- 1Sphere sound: creating U2:UVSound on Sound · interview · January 2024
- 2SSL Live at the core of the Eagles' immersive audio at SphereSolid State Logic · case study · 5 November 2025
- 3HOLOPLOT X1 Modul matrix arrayMix · reference
- 4Sphere case studyHOLOPLOT · case study
- 5HOLOPLOT immersive X1 Matrix ArrayFOH Magazine · reference
- 6Sphere sound: creating U2:UVSound on Sound · interview · January 2024
- 7SSL Live at the core of the Eagles' immersive audio at SphereSolid State Logic · case study · 5 November 2025
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