Handen Culture and Arts Centre – with Timax and d&b.China - China's Handan Culture and Arts Centre is a green architectural dream, strongly characterised by its stunning hybrid concrete and steel ellipsoid structure, which is also built to withstand substantial seismic pressures.With such a focus on the structure itself - groundbreaking, though not ground-shaking, as it is - the aural niceties of grand theatre design were not left wanting - with a multichannel distributed speaker system installation controlled by TiMax, to meet world-class performance and event sound reinforcement standards.Working together with system integrator, Beijing Rangl Audio Co., Ltd, TiMax distributor Sound Works & Supplies Ltd. was well placed to propose a solution best suited to the particular demands and challenges the venue presented. For the building's expansive Grand Theatre space a d&b loudspeaker system was specified in conjunction with a 16x16 TiMax SoundHub2 audio delay matrix for overall system management, zone level control and equalisation, in addition to the all-important TiMax speciality of delay-based localisation.Over the stage a central d&b Qi1 cluster was flanked left and right by further clusters of d&b Qi1 and Qi7 and supported by a combination of d&b B4-SUB and d&b B2-SUBs. Amplification was provided by d&b D12 and D6 amplifiers. Meanwhile, 12 d&b E0's provided fill, with eight d&b 8S as rear fill. Fixed stage monitoring is supplied by 13 d&b 8S, while a further eight cabinets are available as mobile stage monitors.16 d&b 8S are distributed around the auditorium, with a further 12 supplying the first floor balcony and a further 12 again for the second tier. Ceiling effect speakers are comprised of d&b MAX12 and d&b B2-SUBs. Again, amplification was provided by d&b D12 and D6 amplifiers.Chan Chi Wai, of TiMax distributor, Sound Works & Supplies Limited, commented: "The installation has been very successful - the theatre is now able to present productions technologically equivalent or even superior to any show that can be seen in the West."(Jim Evans)
