JAPAN: The farewell concert of famed Takarazuka Revue star Reon Yuzuki recently marked a debut of another kind as d&b audiotechnik’s ArrayProcessing technology was used in Japan for the Àrst time The event took place at the Saitama Super Arena with a live broadcast to millions of fans alongside the thousands in attendance Responsibility for audio fell to Yokohama-based rental company Arxiduc Audio, whose use of ArrayProcessing immediately followed the software’s release, before any training could take place.

According to Arxiduc Audio CEO Hirohide Kobayashi, the challenge was to use ‘ArrayProcessing to optimise coverage and apply uniform frequency response to the maximum number of seats in the venue’.

The concert marked the first use of ArrayProcessing in Japan 

Recently unveiled as an addition to the ArrayCalc v8 software, ArrayProcessing calculates and optimises the performance of existing d&b audiotechnik systems over a determined listening area, achieving consistent coverage at each listening position.Nor was Arxiduc Audio worried about using the software without prior training, with head of sound Yutaka 1akamura declaring that there was no concern - we know d&b’s quality so I decided to use ArrayProcessing without any worry’.

Established in 2013, the rental company has since sought to build its d&b inventory, following the  example of its CEO – a long-term user of the *erman brand.‘We now own V and E-Series as well as monitors,’ 0r Kobayashi explained.‘But for the Yuzuki concert we needed substantially more equipment.’ To solve the problem and with the help of Junta Yamazaki at Audio Brains, the d&b partner for this region of Japan, Mr Kobayashi assembled a consortium of d&b providers including Arxiduc, Links (from Kyoto), and At Sound (local to Saitama) to build a system design based on V-Series enclosures. It comprised 14 V8 enclosures in a L-R configuration plus two V12 cabinets and four V-Subs, An additional sub array of eight V-Subs was also deployed while the show was mixed on a Yamaha CL3.

The ArrayProcessing software was paired with d&b’s V-Series speakers

Mr 1akamura described the challenges that had to be overcome, identifying his ultimate aim as‘consistent frequency balance and good even level distribution for the complete audience. The RT60 at Saitama is quite long, especially in the low frequencies, but I already have much experience with ArrayCalc and knew that V-Series would Àt well to this venue’s limitations’.

He continued, ‘adding ArrayProcessing into the equation was not complicated, it added just one page to the ArrayCalc workflow. I Àlled the 10 available ArrayProcessing slots with measured results from different points in the arena based on system performance without ArrayProcessing. Applying each one in turn to the system, I compared them all to the performance of my installed design without ArrayProcessing. I finally went with -2dB at the Àrst point, and in the back area -4dB with full “Glory” mode – that means the best frequency response over the widest area. I did try “Power” mode just for the experience; this compromises the frequency response in favour of maximizing power. This is the more appropriate mode for heavy metal, though my experience showed that the compromise was actually very small. We had enough headroom in “Glory” mode.’

The broadcasters also took an interest.‘I am very familiar with d&b audiotechnik products and was happy to agree to Arxiduc using our event for a first experience of ArrayProcessing,’ commented Takeshi Suzuki of Audio Visual Communications Ltd Tokyo. ‘The results were very good and we could see the positive beneÀts by the way the audience reacted on camera.’

 
Subsequently described as ‘an audacious experiment’, the use of V-Series with ArrayProcessing was deemed a success for all involved.‘ArrayProcessing has demonstrated another dimension of system performance, sounding great from the Àrst row to the rear seats,’ enthused Mr 1akamura, while Mr Kobayashi added: ‘I do not want to compromise sound quality with budget, otherwise the reputation of Arxiduc is not increased.With tools  like this the “less is more” concept is a reality.’

www.dbaudio.com
 

*Source from Pro Audio Asia magazine Issue 2015 Sep-Oct