Soundscape makes live debut in Hong Kong
Soundscape makes live debut in Hong Kong
A Team Plus (HK) Limited supplied the technical production for the recent joint concert at Macpherson Stadium in Hong Kong, featuring Naked and lay, more reverb, and tfvsjs. d&b Greater China sent Chi Wah and Allen Tin to support the gig, which was the first live concert to use d&b audiotechnik’s Soundscape technology in Greater China.
‘When I started organising the live concert, I hoped to add some new elements to give the audience more consistency and the feeling of being surrounded by sound,’ explained Lik, the owner of Backlinestore, which organised the concert in collaboration with White Noise Records and Exclamation Music. ‘So, it was perfect timing when d&b launched its Soundscape technology.’
Seats were removed for the concert, allowing the venue to accommodate 800 standing audience members. Five line array clusters were flown 7m above the ground, each comprising four d&b Y8 loudspeakers above a pair of Y12 cabinets. An array of six B2 subwoofers provided low end reinforcement and a further eight Y8s were placed in front of the stage as front-fills. In addition, 18 Y7P loudspeakers were set up on the left, right and rear walls of the venue to deliver 360° playback.
‘The system gives the show more power with a surround feel,’ said Wah Li, FOH engineer for tfvsjs. ‘When you are in stereo, the sound comes from the front. Now it comes from all directions. This can help the artist produce new effects. For example, my band has three guitars. In the past, when there were only left and right channels, a lot of balance was needed to make the audience clearly hear them. Now you can easily hear the separation of the three guitars in different positions.’
Audio signals were sent to a DiGiCo S21. The console sent them via Dante to the d&b DS100 processor, needed for a Soundscape setup. The DS100 then converted the processed Dante signal with delay and sound levels into an AES signal and on to the 13 d&b D80 digital amplifiers that powered the speakers.
The initial system design was created with d&b’s ArrayCalc software. Lik also built a simulation system in his rehearsal room using the smaller d&b T10 dual 6.5-inch speakers, allowing the three bands to record for about half a month. ‘Using Soundscape takes more time to prepare,’ he explained. ‘This is similar to lighting programming. The system configuration and placement in the rehearsal room is the same as in reality, except that the size of the speakers is smaller than that used in the field. We needed to design the entire Soundscape in advance and record the movement of each soundtrack, save the show file and restore the effects in the venue, and because the actual space and the speaker size are different, it has to be fine-adjusted again.’
