Opening the gateway to immersive audio

Singapore-based creative arts company Gateway Entertainment has been producing and staging unique artistic, drama and musical performances since the turn of the millennium. It creates and produces home-grown theatre, magic shows and corporate events through its production arm, with flagship shows touring the globe and enthralling audiences with cutting-edge content. A committed contributor to Singapore’s arts scene, Gateway has supported the community through stage productions, arts programmes and social ventures. The organisation has grown to include its second brand, Gateway Theatre, which celebrates and promotes Singapore’s creative talents while nurturing a deeper appreciation for the arts in the heartlands and the wider community.

In 2014, Gateway embarked on an ambitious project to rebuild the former Touch Community Theatre to better serve Singapore’s burgeoning arts and entertainment industry. The resultant nine-storey building in Bukit Merah Central serves as a multi-theatre venue and creative arts space for made-in Singapore works and talent from all cultures. Central to this is an emphasis on providing state-of-the-art audio systems.

Located on the ground floor and spanning three levels, the 922-seat main theatre includes a moveable orchestra pit, a 10m stage and a stage lift. A Dante network interconnects the entire facility with bidirectional audio communications and provides the technical team with a visual representation of all the inputs and outputs throughout the whole building.

Electronics & Engineering (E&E) enjoys a long-term relationship with the theatre, and has an ongoing service contract. The AV integrator and distributor provided the Allen & Heath dLive S7000 digital console platform which is used at FOH, and an S5000 for monitor duties with DM32 and DM64 MixRacks, respectively. In 2022, E&E upgraded the L-R FOH system in the main theatre with 14-per-side JBL VTX A8 arrays powered by Crown I-Tech 4x3500HD amplifiers, paired with four-per-side VTX B18 subwoofers and VRX928LA 8-inch compact line array speakers as front and rear fills for the stalls.

“The theatre continues to be open to new ideas to enhance its appeal to more tour operators and productions,” explains E&E CEO Gary Goh. “Gateway Theatre was looking to further enhance the sound system with immersive capabilities for live productions, and the timely availability of SPAT Revolution following Harman’s acquisition of FLUX:: proved to be an excellent opportunity.”

The object-based and perceptual immersive SPAT Revolution solution was designed to provide artists, sound designers and engineers with tools to create and mix real-time productions. Integrating with a range of DAWs including Ableton Live, Pro Tools, Reaper and Logic Pro, as well as playback systems, SPAT Revolution facilitates local inter-application audio networking and automation. Control can be managed from a tablet, smart phone or computer. Offering a list of advanced object parameters based upon how sound is perceived, SPAT Revolution doesn’t favour any output format or speaker system, facilitating its adaption to almost any venue.

E&E has been demonstrating FLUX:: technology to venue owners and show producers since 2024. A successful demonstration to the Gateway technical team was followed up with assurance that an immersive setup could be easily integrated into the existing FOH loudspeaker system. The seating in the stalls and upper balcony have now been enhanced with 36 wall-mounted JBL AC16 6-inch compact speakers, while four JBL AC18/26 8-inch compact speakers have been ceiling-mounted as delays above the rear balcony seats. Powered by five Crown DCi 8|600DA 8-channel amplifiers, dedicated cable runs connect the 40 outputs to each amplifier channel.

Installing the cabling infrastructure for the 40 loudspeaker outputs was greatly assisted by E&E’s diligence in previous works. “Over the years, we’ve kept excellent records of technical drawings and knew where the conduits were, so we simply extended the loudspeaker and network cabling runs to where we needed to install the loudspeakers,” explains Goh.

The addition of two Netgear GSM4210PD-100 managed switches and an Allen & Heath Dante network interface card interfaces the immersive system with the FOH JBL line array and delay systems. As E&E’s first FLUX:: project, interfacing with the pre-existing FOH speaker system was a steep learning curve. E&E’s system application engineer Amsyar Hartono soon realised that the project required specialist programming and PC coding skills, together with a thorough understanding of IT.

“SPAT Revolution cannot transmit the audio signal directly to the arrays as the pre-existing array system is running on analogue while SPAT Revolution is sending via Dante, and deployment of the system requires you to configure where to move the objects by loading the information before the show,” explains Hartono. “To integrate SPAT Revolution with the pre-existing array system, upon receiving input signals from the dLive console for processing, the immersive mix is split into two via Dante. One path is routed to the Crown DCi amplifiers for the immersive speakers and the other is a return to the dLive console for the array system. Operationally, in the instance of live band performance, the inputs feeding into the dLive console are transmitted to SPAT Revolution rather than directly to the line array.”

Expertise was on hand as Harman Professional’s applications engineers Herman Suparman and Arif Salim are based near the theatre. “Herman and Arif advised on the routing of digital audio signals through the Dante network and assisted with the creation of presets and SPAT Revolution configurations,” continues Hartono. “We could not compromise the existing configuration, and the processing has to be managed within the immersive system.” Gateway Theatre will only apply immersive mixing upon request. To date, just two presets have been created on the dLive console for the theatre technicians. For the first preset, the console is equipped with an existing setup that bypasses the immersive system to connect all the inputs and outputs directly to the main L-R speakers. Should an engineer simply require more room vibrancy, the console will route its audio signals directly to SPAT Revolution for processing as the second preset. “Some of the audience towards the rear of the venue may not really feel the ambience from the performance but, with the integration of SPAT Revolution, the added speakers reinforce the effects and experience,” explains Hartono.

With integration carried out alongside the theatre’s busy production schedule, E&E was forced to stagger its works over a three-month period. However, the installation team were able to lower a fire curtain and continue working without distracting the performers during rehearsals. Commissioning commenced following the programming of SPAT Revolution and Dante software together with the creation of presets.

“We see this as an ever-evolving system,” concludes Goh. “Technology in the immersive space moves fast, and we look forward to working closely with the Gateway Theatre team to ensure they remain at the forefront of these advancements, continually pushing the boundaries of what is possible in live performance.”

Adds Gateway Theatre’s technical manager, Thien Boon Bing, “sound is fundamental to any staged production, setting the tone and elevating the audience’s experience. In our theatre and arts spaces, it plays a vital role in shaping the mood of every performance. We appreciate that E&E understands these requirements and continues to deliver expert advice and wellconsidered recommendations that truly support our needs.”

Following the successful implementation of SPAT Revolution at Gateway Theatre, E&E is now working with other Singaporean venues where the demand for value-added productions outweighs value engineering.