Excellent idea

Having hosted approximately 450 concerts in 2025 and contributed RM1.7bn (US$450mn) to the economy, Kuala Lumpur’s live entertainment business is experiencing an upward surge. Malaysia’s growing infrastructure is keeping pace with this unprecedented growth, and the opening of three large venues can be credited with the fourfold increase in live entertainment turnover over the past three years.

The rapid increase in the number of concerts has been mirrored by the growing profile of big-name acts taking to the Malaysian stages. Among them are Coldplay, Bollywood singer Arijit Singh, K-pop acts Blackpink, Babymonster and G-Dragon, Cantopop legend Jacky Cheung and South Korean boy band Winner. In addition to raising Malaysia’s cultural profile, the government is aware that international concerts are spurring economic activity for the hospitality industry, benefitting hotels, restaurants, transportation and retail businesses.

The 3,000-seat KLCC Plenary Hall continues to report strong traction for concerts and stand-up comedy. However, the opening of Zepp Kuala Lumpur in 2022 served as a taster of what was to come. The 6,000m², 2,500-capacity, mid-sized venue was followed by the larger Mega Star Arena in the capital’s Bukit Bintang district in 2024. More recently, the Pavilion Arena in Damansara Heights has upgraded its audio infrastructure, while ASM Global is partnering with the government to transform Kuala Lumpur Sports City in the Bukit Jalil National Stadium into a premier world-class venue.

Speculators have willingly invested in this growing demand, knowing that the new venues must differentiate themselves from the status quo if they are going to yield a significant return. While strengthening the city’s claim as the regional hub for major touring concerts, the recent opening of the Idea Live Arena is ensuring that this unprecedented growth continues.

Capable of seating 5,000 or accommodating 7,000 in a flexible setup, Idea Live Arena occupies a net lettable area of approximately 6,000m² on level two of the 3 Damansara Mall. Developed by Superstar Arena Holdings with an investment of RM40mn ($10mn), the venue appeals to tour promoters and managers with its rider-friendly audio, lighting and visual systems. Big, ambitious yet carefully designed, its success owes much to the seasoned professionals it attracted to create what is being widely regarded as the region’s concert hall of choice.

AVSR Asia was contracted to supply and install the audio technology by the venue’s promoter IME Entertainment Group Asia and AWP’s production manager Andrew Warren. Lighting and visual technology was specified and installed by the AWP team. Over a three-month period, a demolition team worked 18-hour days to dismantle the concrete mezzanine floor and metal fabrications of what was previously a multiscreen cinema across two levels. Because the cinema’s acoustic treatment was removed to gain the maximum height required for accommodating Idea Live’s lighting and visual fixtures, acoustic treatment was prioritised.

“We’re located in a densely built-up neighbourhood, so audio pollution is a major consideration for the nearby residences and the lower levels of the mall,” explains AVSR Asia owner, Danny Kinchang. “With that in mind, we isolated the floor on floating springs to reduce the impact of the vibrations on the lower floors with a layer of rubber underlay and spring isolators. A 50mm layer of cellulose was inserted into the roof to minimise the noise transmission externally. Using EASE software, we discovered a significant amount of flutter emitting from the wall surfaces, so we added cylindrical cellulose diffusers throughout to control reverberation and flutter. These elements combined to attain an acoustic reverberation time of roughly 1.3s. By configuring certain acoustical elements, we not only contained the reverberation but we also created a venue for multi-purpose usage.”

With fibre cabling chosen to connect the Follow Me spots, DMX cabling was also ruled out in favour of fibre from the lighting control desk to the stage and the LED screen. “It’s futureproofed, faster, easier and has no latency over the 80m distance,” he adds. “For audio, however, we opted to run AES analogue cabling from the Galaxy processors to the amplifiers and loudspeakers, with AVB as a redundant backup or as a preference for some touring engineers.”

Despite the 11pm curfew that the venue must adhere to in this neighbourhood, bookings for Idea Live Arena continue to rise. In addition to fulfilling a major role in Kuala Lumpur’s continuing growth as a main regional hub for live performances, the versatile venue can also be transformed for exhibitions, esports, product launches and conventions. Drawing on collective industry expertise, the teams recruited to create Idea Live have delivered a purpose-built arena designed to meet the highest international standards.

Once treatment was finished, Kinchang approached IME Entertainment Group’s senior vice president Bonor Seen to gain his approval for a Meyer Sound system within the 13m-high space. “Because Andrew and his team are very familiar with Meyer Sound loudspeakers, we submitted a Panther line array proposal,” continues Kinchang. With assistance from Meyer Sound’s Owen Ironside, simulations created in MAPP 3D software confirmed that a Panther system would ideally suit the venue’s versatile requirements on account of its high power handling, clarity and even dispersion characteristics. “It is rider-friendly, and has consistently demonstrated quick maintenance turnarounds to date,” he adds.

The pillarless room required minimal fills, with 12-perside Panther cabinets operating as the main FOH system. “Measuring 130dB SPL without any stress, the powerful dual 12-inch models excel all the way to the last row of seats, 60m from the stage,” explains Kinchang. “In addition to the Panthers, we have added seven-per-side 21-inch Meyer Sound 2100-LFC subwoofers as left and right hangs in addition to 16 ground-stacked 21-inch subwoofers in front of the stage, all in cardioid mode. Each subwoofer has been tuned with a different delay time to disperse the low frequencies. All our acts, but mainly EDM, demand enhanced low-frequency extension.”

Whatever the occasion, the Meyer Sound system offers consistent coverage and power across the frequency spectrum throughout the venue. The front rows of seats are targeted by eight Meyer Sound Ultra-X40 point source speakers on the lip of the stage, with a similar number for the under-balcony areas. Artists onstage can monitor their performances from 16 Meyer Sound MJF-210 dual 10-inch wedges. Connected to two Netgear 24-port switches, three Meyer Sound Galaxy 816 network processors serve the monitor and FOH engineers, and a M’elodie processor manages the fills.

As an alternative to traditional wedge monitors, a significant investment has been made in a Shure Axient wireless system including 12 PSM 1000 in-ear monitor (IEM) systems. “All artists seem to prefer using Shure microphones,” comments AWP senior technician, “Stone” Batumalai. With over 30 years of live experience in Kuala Lumpur, Batumalai was recruited by Idea Live Arena for his industry knowledge. “We offer an inventory of 12 ADX handheld transmitters with Nexadyne capsules, but the K-pop riders still stipulate the iconic Beta 58 model because they prefer its clarity,” he explains, “so we added some Beta 58s to our inventory, because the artist knows best!”

Supplied by Concept Associates, the rack-mounted wireless inventory incorporates three Axient AD4Q 4-channel receivers for connecting wireless transmitter units via UA854UWB antenna power distribution systems. An ADTQ 12-channel receiver connects the PSM 1000 IEMs via AD610 transmitters. An AD8C Axient Digital PSM antenna combiner, an AD600 Axient Digital Spectrum Manager and SBRC rack-mount chargers round off the extensive package. “Should there be a problem with interference, the signal is automatically switched in a flash,” continues Batumalai. “The signal can be monitored from the rack, or from the laptop with the Wireless Workbench software, which is also available as a portable phone device now.”

Dedicated DiGiCo Quantum 338 128-channel consoles are deployed for both the front of house and monitor mixes. “With their user-friendly characteristics, we insisted on DiGiCo mixing consoles from the outset, especially for K-pop and Chinese music concerts,” says Batumalai. “They’re on all the touring riders, but there are occasions when an act like Bryan Adams will bring in their own desk – in this instance, an Avid S6L console. With 38 physical faders and three 17-inch LCD high-resolution touchscreens, the control surface of the Quantum 338 is extremely well-designed and user-friendly.”

Batumalai and the technical team were adamant that the FOH and monitor engineers should not have to share the main mix. With the addition of six ARX MSX 48 ISO-transformer microphone line splitters, dedicated gain feeds for monitors and front of house have been created. “If you share the gain, one console becomes the master and the other becomes the slave,” he explains. “It’s more common for the monitor engineer to have access to the master, but this venue doesn’t want to compromise, so both consoles receive individual gains for controlling their own mixes.”

Lighting fixtures can be hoisted up and taken down from the permanent lighting grid within 30 minutes. The process has been hastened by the selection of motor hoists individually equipped with their own counterweights, allowing the weight loads on each motor hoist to be read. An inventory of Mindrin moving heads and lighting fixtures is controlled from an MA Lighting grandMA3 control surface.

Maximising venue flexibility, a carefully designed cabling infrastructure facilitates quick turnarounds between events. “We learnt from our experiences while working in other venues where cables cannot run from the hoist to the stage or from the side,” says Batumalai. “We designed Idea Live to incorporate and benefit from a host of improvements that other venues could not offer, including the creation of a tunnel from FOH to the stage for pulling extra cable when required. In addition, a Japanese or an American operator can bring in a 110V generator and receive a 110V supply.”