Ba Sao Investment selects JBL, Crown, dbx and Soundcraft audio solutions to enhance animal acts, magic shows and acrobat performances at historic circus venue

HANOI, Vietnam—Ba Sao Investment, Co., Ltd. recently installed a complete audio system by HARMAN Professional Solutions at the Central Circus Theatre.

Located in the Hai Ba Trung district and founded in 1956, the Central Circus Theatre is the oldest circus in Vietnam. The theater hosts five to seven performances per week by its own Vietnam Circus Federation, as well as occasional visits from international troupes. In order to enhance the facility’s sound quality and provide a more immersive performances experience for audiences, the Central Circus Theatre hired Ba Sao Investment to update the facility’s aging audio system with a cutting-edge integrated audio solution. Ba Sao Investment selected a complete HARMAN audio solution made up of JBL speakers, Crown amps, dbx signal processors and Soundcraft digital mixing consoles for their intuitive operation, unmatched flexibility and world-renowned sound quality.

“One key requirement of the audio system was that it needed to be powerful enough to cover our theater’s needs, and portable enough to suit our touring needs,” said Mr.Lê Quang Tuyến, Vice President, Central Circus Theatre. “Ba Sao Investment worked closely with HARMAN to provide us with a customized solution that includes a combination of passive and active JBL speakers. The HARMAN system offers us a lot of flexibility, and is a huge improvement over the previous system in terms of overall sound quality.”    

The HARMAN system in the Central Circus Theatre consists of 12 JBL STX825 two-way speakers, 6 JBL STX828 dual 18-inch subwoofers, 18 JBL PRX715 two-way portable powered speakers, Crown MA5000 power amplifiers, Soundcraft Si Performer 2 digital mixing consoles and dbx DriveRack 260 speaker management systems.

Boasting a wide frequency range and broad 90-degree by 50-degree coverage, the JBL STX825 is a dual 15-inch two-way speaker and provides maximum impact, portability and ease of use. The JBL STX828S dual 18-inch subwoofer delivers maximum low-frequency performance and 2,000 watts of continuous pink noise power handling. The system is powered by Crown MA5000i amps, and augmented by portable JBL PRX715 two-way powered speakers.

“The Central Circus Theatre is thrilled with the HARMAN system we installed,” said Nguyen Khac Anh, CEO, Ba Sao Investment, Co. Ltd. “The JBL speakers provide excellent clarity and coverage, and the dbx DriveRack 260 ensures the system is optimized for every performance. The small-format Soundcraft Si Performer 2 can handle any live mix situation, and its built-in DMX lighting controller makes it easy for one technician to control audio and lighting from one console.” 

“We are honored that our solutions are incorporated in Vietnam’s oldest circus,” said Ramesh Jayaraman, VP & GM, HARMAN Professional Solutions, APAC. “The proud tradition of the Central Circus Theatre is in line with HARMAN’s tradition of providing premium technical solutions. We thank the Central Circus Theatre for trusting HARMAN products to carry its time-honored legacy into the future, and Ba Sao Investment for their faith in our brand.”

Mahajak Development selects an integrated HARMAN AV audio solution for its advanced networking, intuitive operation and premium sound quality  

BANGKOK—Mahajak Development Co., Ltd. recently installed a complete HARMAN networked AV audio solution at AVANI Riverside Bangkok, an award-winning luxury hotel overlooking the Chao Phraya River.

In addition to 245 guest rooms and suites, the hotel features a lobby, grand ballroom, five conference rooms, multiple restaurants and a rooftop swimming pool. In order to provide audio coverage and networked AV for a wide range of specialized areas and environments, hotel owner Minor International hired Mahajak Development to install a complete HARMAN AV audio solution. It consisted of JBL Professional speakers, Crown amplifiers, BSS signal processors, Soundcraft audio mixers and AMX networked AV systems.

“We asked Mahajak Development to provide us with robust AV solutions to accommodate a spectrum of events and functions,” said Pakpoom Worakamolkul, Senior Engineering Manager, Minor International. “Thanks to the variety of speaker types and sizes in the JBL Control Series line, Mahajak was able to customize the solution in each different environment to deliver maximum coverage and intelligibility. The colors and grills of the speakers blend in with their surroundings perfectly. Furthermore, the HARMAN AV systems in our grand ballroom and meeting spaces are very flexible and easily optimized for different types of events.”  

The HARMAN AV system allows the AVANI Riverside Bangkok staff to produce weddings, business conferences, private parties and more. In the grand ballroom, JBL Control Series speakers are complemented by JBL EON Series powered speakers and JBL STX818S subwoofers for enhanced volume and bass response. The entire system is powered by Crown CTs Series, XLi Series and XTi 2 Series amplifiers.

Versatile and compact Soundcraft MFXi audio mixers enable staff and guest DJs to quickly craft professional mixes. BSS Soundweb London devices offer advanced routing and signal processing, while BSS BLU control panels make it easy for non-technical staff members to adjust the sophisticated AV system. AMX IS-SPX-1300 players are used to program digital signage panels located outside each event space, which indicate the current booking. Finally, an AMX ENOVA digital media switcher forms the “backbone” of the networked AV systems in the banquet spaces, enabling seamless audio playback and signal switching.

“AVANI Riverside Bangkok is very happy with the networked HARMAN AV system we installed,” said Pongsakorn Kanchanachayphoom, Project Director, Mahajak Development. “It was a challenge to design a large-scale system that fulfilled all of the technical requirements. Thanks to HARMAN’s never-ending inventory of professional solutions, we were able to provide the hotel with the AV system of their dreams.”   

Mahajak Development selects JBL Professional, Crown, Soundcraft, dbx and BSS solutions to create a versatile multi-zone audio system across a wide range of attractions 

HUA HIN, THAILAND—Mahajak Development recently installed a multi-zone distributed audio system by HARMAN Professional Solutions at Vana Nava Jungle Water Park.

Located on eight acres outside of Hua Hin, Thailand, Vana Nava is Asia’s first “water jungle” and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the region. In addition to over 20 water slides, rides, and a jungle with more than 200,000 species of plants and trees, Vana Nava features world-class restaurants, bars, music venues and private event spaces. In order to provide excellent sound quality for background music and announcements across a wide range of facilities and attractions, developer Proud Real Estate hired Mahajak Development to design and install a complete HARMAN networked multi-zone audio solution throughout the entire park.

“The project required a great number of loudspeakers, and the HARMAN constant-voltage speakers enabled us to extend the number of outputs and minimize power loss over long speaker cable runs,” said Roengrith Jantarima, Project Manager, Mahajak Development. “The park has been up and running smoothly for five years now, and we continue to provide Vana Nava with technical support and maintenance. Thanks to the durability and seamless integration of the HARMAN solutions, we haven’t had to replace anything due to equipment failure. The park’s audio system sounds as good today as the day it was opened.”

The system installed by Mahajak Development includes JBL loudspeakers, Crown amplifiers, Soundcraft mixers and BSS digital audio processors. The wide range of indoor and outdoor spaces at Vana Nava are outfitted with JBL Professional Control Contractor Series loudspeakers, offering a variety of surface-mount, in-ceiling and in-wall models for any architectural, aesthetic or system performance requirement. Additionally, the water park zone is augmented by JBL AE Series, EON500 Series and PRX700 Series speakers. The entire system is powered by Crown CDi Series and XTi 2 series amplifiers.

A Soundcraft FX16ii 16-channel mixing console sits at the center of the HARMAN system, while dbx DriveRack Series loudspeaker management systems handle the multi-zone processing and distribution of audio. A BSS Soundweb London BLU-80 device offers configurable I/O, signal processing and CobraNet audio. Finally, BSS BLU-8 wall-mount controllers enable intuitive level control and source selection in the different zones across the park.    

“It’s exciting to note that HARMAN provided a professionally controlled multi-zone sonic infrastructure for their complex networked audio system at Vana Nava Jungle Water Park in Thailand,” said Ramesh Jayaraman, VP & GM, HARMAN Professional Solutions, APAC. “Mahajak Development has been one of our long-standing partners and we are looking forward to seeing this relationship grow in the future.”

Lawrenson Group selects solutions by JBL, Crown, dbx and Soundcraft for their famed sound quality, unmatched versatility and intuitive operation

HAMILTON, NEW ZEALAND—The Lawrenson Group recently installed a complete audio system by HARMAN Professional Solutions at the Outback Inn, a popular nightclub in Hamilton, New Zealand.

One of New Zealand's premier entertainment venues, the Outback Inn, hosts massive dance parties and performances by local DJs and touring artists, including Flux Pavilion, Twista, Peking Duk, and many more. The large facility can serve as a 2000-capacity venue, or can be divided into three distinct nightclubs. In order to accommodate the flexible room configuration and provide an exceptional music experience to its guests, owner and operator Lawrenson Group decided to upgrade the Outback Inn’s aging audio system with a complete HARMAN audio solution.

“The Lawrenson Group has been proud owners of HARMAN Professional Solutions audio gear in a large number of our venues for many years now, and naturally we were pleased to continue this relationship with our new nightclub expansion at The Outback Inn,” said Jeffrey Van Kempen, Technical Director, Lawrenson Group. “The majority of our nightclub venues use JBL STX Series speakers and Crown XTi 2 series amplifiers with very pleasing and reliable results, even while being ran more than 20 hours a week in very harsh environments.”

Trusted HARMAN distributor Jands New Zealand supplied all equipment for the Outback Inn’s new sound system. The system consists of JBL SRX800 Passive Series loudspeakers and subwoofers, Crown XTi 2 Series amplifiers, a dbx DriveRack Series speaker management system and Soundcraft Si Series digital audio consoles.   

“The HARMAN system was specified so that it can either operate as one large main PA when the venue is used as a performance venue or it can be broken down into three smaller nightclub systems for regular weekly use,” said Eli Murray, Director of Sales and Design, Jands New Zealand. “Portability, budget, set up and ease of use were all top of mind during the specification process.”

JBL SRX835 three-way speakers provide stunning full-range audio, while JBL SRX828S dual 18-inch subwoofers deliver powerful low frequencies needed to stimulate the dance floor. JBL SRX815 two-way speakers satisfy the venue’s flexibility requirements, serving as monitors, front- and side-fills, or portable PA speakers. The entire system is powered by reliable Crown XTi6002 and XTi 4002 amplifiers, and a dbx DriveRack VENU360 loudspeaker management system ensures maximum PA performance and coverage every time. A Soundcraft Si Performer 3 console takes care of the front-of-house mix in the main venue, while Soundcraft Si Impact consoles enable powerful and intuitive mixes in the smaller nightclubs.

“Earlier this year we hosted Peking Duk for our first large event,” explained Van Kempen. “It was also our first real chance to run the system in its entirety and we have literally been blown away with its performance. The results have been very impressive and the HARMAN solution has kept well within budget budget.”

“The Lawrenson Group’s confidence in HARMAN Professional Solutions products and solutions speaks volumes of our customer service, product reliability and world class standards which help elevate customer experiences,” said Ramesh Jayaraman, VP & GM  HARMAN Professional Solutions, APAC. “We are pleased that we are able to continue to meet their exacting standards and expectations in partnership with our NewZealand distributor Jands.”

Full range of HARMAN Professional Solutions help create immersive experience

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - Nestled in Henderson Valley in Western Auckland New Zealand, Whoa! Studios is a state-of-the-art film studio and theatre specialising in live action, puppetry and miniatures. Its flagship offering is an original, world-class, live show based on the characters and sets of Custard’s World – adapted for stage from a script by Bob Baker, BAFTA award winning screenwriter of Wallace & Gromit.

Whoa!’s owner, David Sutherland, wanted to create an exciting family destination in Auckland with unforgettable live experiences. He says, “It started out as an idea to do something fun for children and for families, to do something that was different to what they had engaged with before. We wanted to try and do something that was magical.”

David’s vision has resulted in a world-class facility with a children’s adventure playground, a modern family eatery, a hi-tech studio and theatre facilities. In order to realise this vision and create a truly immersive experience alongside the mix of puppets, digital effects and live action from within the main stage movie set, leading world class AV technologies were needed.

Worldclass meant that one of New Zealand’s top integration companies, ITAV was called upon to knit together this immersive experience that would create lasting memories. Their brief was clear; sound quality, flexibility and ease of use.

Consultant and ITAV integrator Paul Ivory had no doubts when it came to selecting the team that he would partner on this project. Paul declares, “I called on the best of the best in all different aspects of this project.”

JANDS, leading specialists in sound system design and the HARMAN Professional Solutions equipment supplier in New Zealand, were selected because of their domain expertise, audio and product knowledge, far-reaching support and emphasis on long-term relationship.

Paul Edlin, Project Director at JANDS, designed the fully integrated networked audio system for the theatre and restaurant. BSS Soundweb and Soundcraft Vi3000 are an integral part of the audio distribution and essentially, the heart of the theatre system.

The primary objective was to keep as much of the audio signal in the digital domain as possible. Audio was passed in and out of the Vi3000 via Dante, into the BSS BLU-806 signal processor before reaching the Crown DCi Amplifiers that powered the JBL CBT 70 array speakers in the theatre, and various JBL Control Series speakers for the eight zones such as the green room and back of stage.

Audio outputs for the live film studio and theatre were configured in 7.1 and 5.1 respectively. This was not only for a surround sound effect, but for localised sources as puppets came in from different locations around the room.

For the theatre, Paul Ivory selected the JBL CBT 70’s. “They are great for speech and music” he says, “The array of the speakers is perfect for having clear sound for the front and back end of the room; they were always going to be my first choice, there is nothing else that comes close.”

AKG’s new MicroLite HC81 headworn microphones were selected due to being comfortable and lightweight to wear for the actors, while the wireless microphone technology used has a track record of solid reliability.

Through clever configuration and use of the Soundcraft VISI app, the Soundcraft Vi3000 mixing console provided the central control point for all performance areas.

Paul Edlin from JANDS explains the use of the VISI integration, “Vi3000 controls all the actors and playback audio within the main theatre and on the second layer it controls audio in the second theatre.” This resulted in a cost saving of an additional mixing surface. Paul continues, “So the main theatre can be running a show and the second theatre can simultaneously run another show with audio controlled via the VISI iPad app.”

The approach to the AV design for the restaurant and mezzanine areas is equally as ingenious, with exceptional sound quality produced by the unobtrusive JBL Pendant speakers.

 “You can walk throughout the café, into the parent’s area, toilets, the shop into the entrance way and the sound is all even, it is not overbearing in any area” states ITAV’s Paul Ivory.

All AV technologies such as switching on projectors and lowering screens, operating lights and adjusting volume are controlled on a touch panel system via an automated process. Third party systems control is made simple and easy to execute with Audio Architect and AMX seamlessly integrated together.

Through effective communication, simplistic AV and sound system design and leading world-class products from Harman Professional, the teams from ITAV and JANDS were able to put together a solution that will provide simplistic user operation for staff, and unforgettable live experiences for families.

David Sutherland concludes, “We wanted to exceed expectations. I didn’t think it would be as good as this result - and that makes it all worthwhile.”

“Whoa! Studios showcases the best of HARMAN Professional Solutions product suites. A complete and reliable solution that is able to meet the different requirements in the different spaces to achieve the objective of our esteemed customers. We are delighted that our solutions are helping elevate the experiences of Whoa! guests,” said Ramesh Jayaraman, VP & GM  HARMAN Professional Solutions, APAC. “We also commend JANDS in New Zealand for their professionalism and impeccable design that has helped the client achieve their objectives.”

Products Used

BSS Soundweb
BSS BLU-806
BLU-100
Soundcraft Vi3000
Soundcraft VISI App
Crown DCi Amplifiers
DCI8300N-B DCI DRIVECORE NETWORK 8CH 300W/CH
JBL CBT 70 Array speakers
CONTROL25-1
CONTROL28-1
CONTROL67PT FULL-RANGE PENDANT SPKR EXTND BASS BLK
CONTROL47LP 2-WAY 150W LOW PROFILE CEILING SPEAKER
ASB6112 ULTRA COMPACT HIGH POWER 12IN SUBWOOFER
AKG WMS4500 Wireless Microphones Systems
AKG HC81MD-BEIGE MICROLITE
IVM4500 IN-EAR WIRELESS SYSTEM
K171-MKII HEADPHONES
CSPM1 CSM 1 ZONE PAGING STATION

96-channels, superior performance and streamlined operation—now in a more compact form factor

NORTHRIDGE, CA—Soundcraft by HARMAN is pleased to introduce the Vi1000 Digital Mixing Console. Representing the culmination of the groundbreaking achievements and rich feature sets offered by Soundcraft’s acclaimed Vi Series, the new VI1000 is the most compact member of the Vi-000 family—at just 86cm x 81cm (34” x 32”) in size—yet it retains all the mixing and processing power of its two larger siblings, the Vi2000 and 3000.

The Vi1000 is designed for live touring, music venue and corporate AV customer with applications where a compact and cost-effective, but powerful console is required. Employing Soundcraft’s unique and highly intuitive Vistonics II^TM channel strip user interface, together with FaderGlow^TM, the console combines the operating principles and workflows from the highly successful Vi3000, 5000 and 7000 consoles with Soundcraft® SpiderCore^TM—a powerful built-in DSP and I/O engine based on STUDER technology, offering 40-bit floating point processing for class-leading audio quality. The Vi1000 also comes into its own as an additional remote-control surface for any of the larger consoles in the range, using their Mirroring feature.

In addition to gating and compression on all 96 channel paths, audio processing functionality includes the acclaimed BSS DPR901ii Dynamic EQ and Lexicon multi-effects via an insertable processing pool—plus the ability to insert up to 64 external devices. STUDER vMIX automatic voice mixing is built-in and BSS 966 graphic EQs are available on all output busses.

The Vi1000 comes with rear panel local I/O featuring 16 HQ mic/line inputs, 16 line outputs, and two 64 channel expansion slots that allow up to two MADI-based Stageboxes to be connected, or alternatively the slots provide access to an extensive range of D21m I/O option cards, that address all industry standard audio formats. Four channels of AES/EBU I/O plus USB and MIDI connections complete the back panel. The total I/O count of the console is 212 in x 212 out.

As is standard with all Vi000-series consoles, a built-in 64x64ch Dante^TM/MADI interface provides direct recording/playback connection via Ethernet to any Windows or Mac-based recording software, or allows the Vi1000 to integrate into an existing Dante network. The associated optical MADI interface allows an alternate record feed to MADI-equipped storage devices or connection of the Soundcraft Realtime Rack Plug-in engine, adding the power of Universal Audio UAD^TM-powered plug-ins to the console's expansive sonic palette.

The Vi1000’s built-in monitoring support for AKG, Shure and Sennheiser wireless microphone systems makes it easy to check battery power, RF levels and frequencies, plus audio level and clipping status of the attached wireless microphones—right on the channel strip that controls each mic.

Andy Brown, Soundcraft Product Manager, commented on the company’s new Vi1000, “The Vi1000 represents all that we’ve learned over the years with our Vi line and channels that knowledge and experience into a new desk that delivers superior audio performance and a world-class feature set—now delivered in the most compact form factor we’ve achieved so far.”

Availability

The new Soundcraft Vi1000 will be available in November. For more information, please visit http://www.soundcraft.com/en-US/products/vi2000.