Esplanade Theatres on the Bay upgrades concert hall system
Published: ASIA
SINGAPORE: The iconic Esplanade Theatres on the Bay in Singapore has undergone an upgrade of its already prestigious permanent concert hall system, augmenting its original d&b audiotechnik installation with the aim of ‘not only boosting, but increasing the directivity of the lower frequencies,’ according to d&b audiotechnik application support engineer Ralf Zuleeg.
The Esplanade is widely considered to be a symbol of the modern theatrical, music and arts scene in Singapore, boasting a cathedral-style atmosphere that hosts predominantly single-night performances catering to a broad range of artists including ‘light amplification and orchestras through to heavy rock and roll,’ according to head of sound Robin Shuttleworth.
Prior to its grand opening in 2002, the venue’s management engaged in conversation with a number of major touring production companies in order to deduce which sound system would best serve their needs. A nod of approval was ultimately given to a d&b audiotechnik C4 and C7 speaker system, which was further boosted with the addition of B2 subwoofers and E3 fill speakers.
‘When the theatres opened in 2002, line arrays were clearly in vogue, but we didn’t necessarily want to go down that route,’ explains Mr Shuttleworth. ‘Back then, the d&b audiotechnik C4 and C7 point source systems were our automatic choice as the system had never needed to change. Certainly there have been artists who have occasionally come in and asked for another system but when we’ve told them what we have and they’ve heard it they’ve always liked the system. You have to ask whether a line array could do better. The point source system covers the wide variety of what we want and I personally don’t think that a line array would do it justice.’
With a successful system, however, comes the issue of upgrading, and in 2008 Mr Shuttleworth found himself confronted with exactly this difficulty. ‘We didn’t want to upgrade just for the sake of it or for just getting another brand in,’ he reasons. ‘I sat down with Sebastian Song from d&b here in Singapore and discussed the situation, as the system was still running well. We analysed it and asked whether there was anything that could be done to improve what we had. We ultimately decided that the front stalls, the overall coverage and bass control could be slightly improved.’
The solution of increasing the directivity of sub-frequencies within the hall ultimately came from Mr Zuleeg, who designed the original installation and was well set to further improve it with the addition of a single C4-TOP cabinet and four C4 subwoofers on the L-R arrays. Each array now consists of a column of four C4-TOPs and one C7-TOP adjacent to five C4 subwoofers, while a further three C4 subwoofers have been positioned behind the front facing C4-TOPs providing cardioid functionality.
Mr Shuttleworth describes himself as impressed by the results. ‘There is a void in the hall, but once we’d lost 10db of low energy we could control it. The reflex bass has been controlled by positioning three C4 subwoofers behind the C4-TOPs in each left and right array.’
Meanwhile, d&b audiotechnik ensured that the new design would meet expectations by establishing an identical system in its factory near Stuttgart. ‘We were slightly worried that the C4 subwoofers behind the main arrays would not match the front speakers,’ reveals Mr Zuleeg. ‘However, they share the same dimensions and proved to be a perfect fit. Furthermore, the results of our analyses showed improved diffusion patterns in the concert hall of between 2dB to 3dB, with much better evenness in the side balcony seats. The results of the simulation were better than imagined – the C4 subwoofers showed constant directivity between 50-160Hz at 160°.’
Having now heard the completed system, Mr Shuttleworth is understandably keen to praise the efforts of the German manufacturer. ‘One of the best things was having Matthias come out. That was a real plus as they’d gone away after our initial meeting and taken the time and effort to look again at the system, test it in Germany and finally come back to me to confirm that they could do it.’
The extra 11 cabinets were successfully added to the L-C-R array in the concert hall on 2 June, whilst phase and frequency responses were configured on the following day. ‘It was quite amazing when we’d completed as the bass drum was literally in our faces,’ remembers Mr Zuleeg. The extra 284kg added to both the L-R arrays was well within the tolerance allowed for the 1-tonne thresholds.
As a finishing touch, the original P1200 amplifiers were completely replaced with D12 models, which also provide DSP monitoring via the R70 Ethernet to CAN (Controller Area Network) interfaces on a laptop running R1 Remote control software. Mr Shuttleworth is reportedly delighted with this part of the upgrade in particular.
‘It’s a natural improvement – now we can use DSP in the amplifiers to perform the control and we’ve gained an additional 6db amplifier gain. The whole system is digital, the signal quality has been improved and we’ve got more power. When I switched the system on there was a noticeable difference as the sound was tighter and we didn’t have that reflex sound. The coverage was equally as impressive, including the front stalls, and the amps were given more power with the extra line of speakers and so the headroom had increased considerably.’