On 25 May 2026, Jordan celebrated the 80th anniversary of its independence from British rule. To mark the momentous occasion, a grand celebration was held at Al Husseiniya Palace in Amman, with a VIP audience including His Majesty King Abdullah II, Queen Rania and other high-ranking members of the royal family in attendance.
While the event was a chance for the entire country to mark its most important cultural celebration, it also served as a major milestone for Jordan’s live events industry, as event technology specialist TriTec AV deployed the country’s first ever d&b audiotechnik XSL system for the occasion. “This was a proud moment for TriTec AV and for the Jordanian production industry,” said Marwan R Abujaber, CEO and owner at TriTec AV. “Introducing the d&b XSL System to Jordan at such an important national event allowed us to demonstrate the system’s power, clarity, and control in a truly meaningful setting.”
With the show featuring live orchestral music, choir performances, playback video elements and a keynote address from King Abdullah, TriTec AV was tasked with providing a turnkey technical solution, including audio, communications, video and lighting, that would stand up to challenge of marking the occasion of great national importance.
The lighting rig featured an array of Claypaky fixtures including Arolla Aqua LT, Mini-B and Tambora, with primary and secondary MA Lighting grandMA3 consoles used for control. With no roof on the stage, the TriTec AV team had to get creative with lighting positions. “We had to install all our lighting around the venue, among the audience area and flown from the PA powers at the sides of the stage,” explained TriTec AV’s Najib Albakhit. “That was a bit of a challenge, but we were pleased with the result.”
The video setup meanwhile comprised Absen PL V2 2.9mm LED panels, with content powered by Dataton WATCHPAX 62 media servers running WATCHOUT 7. “There are often last-minute changes to video content, and our recent upgrade to WATCHOUT 7 means that these changes can happen with the least amount of disruption possible,” Albakhit added. “This was our first time using the system since the upgrade and it was very smooth and efficient.”
When it came to audio, TriTec AV deployed a main system of d&b XSL hangs, with 10 XSL8 per side, supported by four flown XSL-SUBs behind each main array. The front row and centre audience areas were covered by XSL12. The main system was complemented with T-Series loudspeakers in line array format as side fills and powered by D80 amplifiers, with signal distribution via Dante.
With the audio system needing to deliver exceptional speech intelligibility, musical clarity, consistent audience coverage and high gain-before-feedback, Albakhit and the rest of the TriTec AV audio team were keen to see what their new XSL system could offer – and they weren’t disappointed. “The moment the music started playing, we were all blown away by the quality and the balance of the system,” he stated, noting that d&b ArrayProcessing was used to ensure consistent sound distribution, tonal balance, high-frequency coverage and headroom across the entire audience space.
TriTec AV owner Abujaber was also delighted with the performance of the system. “The cardioid performance made a major difference on stage, especially with the orchestra and choir,” he added. “The system delivered the speech intelligibility and musical quality required for an event of this importance.”
Monitors were a combination of six d&b M2 loudspeakers deployed across the stage to assist solo singers and centre-stage dancers as well as a Shure PSM 1000 Wireless system for in-ears. DiGiCo Quantum 338 consoles were used for control, while a Riedel Bolero wireless system handled communications.
Brad Maiden, General Manager for d&b Middle East, added his thoughts on the XSL’s Jordanian debut. “It’s great to see TriTec AV putting their new XSL System to such a prestigious first use,” he remarked. “TriTec AV has been a valued partner of ours for many years and their passion for audio is as infectious as our own. We’re delighted to see them expand their inventory and we look forward to them delivering many more events such as this.”
Photos: TriTec AV
