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In November 2025, Bulgarian artist Grafa performed at Arena 8888 Sofia, a venue with a capacity of 15,000 people. The stage was positioned in the centre of the arena, with the audience seated around it in a 360° configuration. This arrangement presents additional challenges for sound reinforcement and stage monitoring. Musicians need to hear their own parts, vocals and the instruments of other band members clearly.
To provide personalised in-ear monitoring, monitor engineer Boris Yanakiev used the KLANG system alongside a DiGiCo Quantum 338 digital mixing console. Immersive audio processing enabled instruments and vocals to be positioned in different directions within the musicians' headphones. Each band member was provided with a KLANG:kontroller personal controller to adjust their individual monitor mix.
The stage for Grafa's concert was approximately 40 metres long. With an audience surrounding a stage of this size, particular attention must be paid to the audibility of individual instruments and the interaction between stage monitoring and the main sound reinforcement system.
Floor monitors increase the overall sound level on stage. At high volumes, sound from these monitors can spill into open microphones and create additional acoustic interaction with the main PA system. On a 360° stage in a large arena, these challenges become more difficult to manage due to loudspeaker positioning and sound reflections.
For Grafa's concert, personal in-ear monitoring was used to provide individual monitor mixes for the musicians without the need to increase the number or volume of floor monitors.
A DiGiCo Quantum 338 digital mixing console equipped with a DMI-KLANG module was used to create the monitor mixes. The console provided audio signal management, while DMI-KLANG handled immersive audio processing and the creation of individual monitor mixes.
In conventional stereo monitoring, instruments are positioned between the left and right headphone channels. KLANG enables individual audio sources to be positioned within a virtual three-dimensional sound field, creating the perception that they are coming from different directions. This spatial separation helps musicians distinguish vocals and instrumental parts more clearly without continually increasing the volume of individual channels.
DMI-KLANG processes up to 64 input channels and generates up to 16 independent immersive monitor mixes. Its integration with DiGiCo consoles allows monitor engineers to control these mixes directly from the mixing console.
The performance featured Grafa and nine musicians: a drummer, bass guitarist, guitarist, two keyboard players, a wind instrumentalist and three backing vocalists.
Each musician received a KLANG:kontroller personal controller for managing their own monitor mix. The device features rotary controls and displays showing channel names. Musicians could independently adjust the levels of instruments, vocals and signal groups, as well as their positions within the virtual sound field.
Monitor engineer Boris Yanakiev retained the ability to control all monitor mixes from the DiGiCo Quantum 338 console. Immersive audio processing was handled by the DMI-KLANG module, while KLANG:kontroller provided the musicians with personal control and headphone audio output.
Each KLANG:kontroller was connected using a single Ethernet cable. The cable carried Dante audio signals, control data and Power over Ethernet (PoE) from the network switch.
Before the concert, the production team completed two weeks of rehearsals. During this period, the monitor engineer prepared individual monitor mixes and introduced the musicians to the KLANG control system.
Part of the preparation was completed in advance using KLANG software. Before rehearsals began, Boris Yanakiev labelled the channels and configured audio signal routing in the KLANG application.
During rehearsals, the remaining tasks involved connecting the KLANG:kontroller units and refining the monitor mixes according to the musicians' preferences.
For many of the musicians, this was their first experience with KLANG. The physical controls helped them become familiar with immersive monitoring without changing their established rehearsal workflow.
According to Boris Yanakiev, spatial separation of the instruments helped improve clarity within the individual monitor mixes. Unlike conventional stereo monitoring, KLANG allows musicians to perceive instruments as coming from different directions, making it easier to distinguish individual musical parts.
Following rehearsals, the musicians reported that they could distinguish instruments more clearly, even at lower headphone volumes. They also reported experiencing less listening fatigue after extended rehearsals.
Reducing the required monitoring level was one of the key outcomes of using KLANG. However, actual listening levels depend on system configuration, headphones and individual musician preferences.
KLANG immersive in-ear monitoring enabled musicians to perceive instruments and vocals separately within their headphone mixes. Personal controllers allowed each performer to manage their own monitor mix, while the monitor engineer retained centralised control through the DiGiCo Quantum 338.
This approach to stage monitoring is relevant not only to 360° stages but also to concert tours, festival productions and performances involving large numbers of musicians.
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