The community radio station Radio Aalsmeer (radioaalsmeer.nl), which broadcasts for the town of Aalsmeer, The Netherlands, has adopted the latest radio trends with the installation of a 16-fader Crystal surface powered by a Lawo Compact Engine.

Funds for the renovation of the equipment came from donations by Rabobank and Schiphol Airport, so the value played an important role in the selection of Crystal. Niels Tenhagen, self-employed broadcast professional who began his career volunteering at Radio Aalsmeer, explains why the radio station decided to embrace the Lawo solution: “We visited trade shows like IBC, and the Lawo Crystal quickly became our favorite. We love the clear design and quality engineering. Literally every knob and button can be programmed.”

Radio Aalsmeer’s playout system and studio computers use Lawo RƎLAY VSC Virtual Sound Card software, which provides 8 “virtual sound card” instances for each Windows® computer to allow direct exchange of audio between PC workstations and the RAVENNA / AES67 studio network. Another Lawo software product, RƎLAY VPB Virtual Patch Bay, provides the station’s main switching matrix.