SINGAPORE: Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the Esplanade –Theatres on the Bay in Singapore has undergone an upgrade of its already prestigious permanent theatre sound system. 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 technical manager 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 its 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,’explained Mr Shuttleworth. ‘Back then, the theatre’s Meyer Sound MSL4 and the concert hall d&b audiotechnik C4/C7 point source systems were our automatic choice. 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 it.’  

With a successful system, however, comes the issue of upgrading, and in 2011 Mr Shuttleworth found himself confronted with exactly this difficulty.‘We didn’t want to upgrade just for the sake of it,’he reasoned. ‘The current system was a little dated but could have gone on for another five years, if we didn’t technically have to be offering cutting edge technology.’

‘Following loudspeaker evaluations conducted by my Singaporean suppliers, a d&b audiotechnik system was ultimately given the nod of approval. We have three systems in the theatre now — a non-installed JBL VerTec line array, an Opus surround system, and now the fixed d&b system.

As in the concert hall, d&b audiotechnik’s Ralf Zuleeg designed the new system in the theatre. The FOH system consists of two Ci7-TOP loudspeakers and two Ci-SUB subwoofer clusters suspended in L-R configuration which has been supplemented by a centre-fill consisting of a further two Ci7-TOP cabinets.

‘The FOH proscenium has restricted space owing to metalwork and so the same speakers couldn’t be integrated into this space,’furthered Mr Shuttleworth. As a result, eight 10S, two 12S and two 12S-D speakers have been integrated, supplemented by four ground stacked Ci7-SUB subwoofers. Performances requiring a further boost benefit from a portable ground stack consisting of two pairs of Ci7-SUB subwoofers. Front-fills are catered for by eight E6 speakers, with another eight 10S speakers of the same model deployed as fills in the stalls balcony area.

Theatre goers in the first and second balconies benefit from 19 5S speakers, whilst the third upper balcony is catered for by six white 10S-D speakers. A further 12 M4 stage monitors were acquired and six E12-D speakers have been added as side-fills. A total of 18 D12 and 15 D6 amplifiers power the entire system, providing DSP monitoring via the R70 Ethernet to CAN (Controller Area Network) interfaces on a laptop running R1 Remote control software.

The installation took place under the guidance of senior sound technician Dino Sairil Bin Sanip whilst the show, literally, went on. ‘There could be no downtime as performances were already booked,’ continued Mr Shuttleworth. For the compete installation and commissioning, the d&b audiotechnik team, led by project manager Kenny Chng, had just nine days to dismantle the existing system and to install new loudspeakers together with some necessary rewiring in the amplifier room.

*Original from ProAudio Asia 2012 Mar-Apr issue