Salt Lake City, UT – Hale Centre Theatre (HCT) is recognized as one of the nation’s highest-attended theatres, annually serving over 600,000 patrons with high-level professional productions at an accessible price. Faced with the challenge of upgrading their 911-seat, in-the-round, Centre Stage venue, HCT installed a comprehensive d&b audiotechnik Soundscape system with En-Scene, En-Space, and En-Snap software modules.
“With this upgrade, the theatre needed a solution that could guarantee consistent audio quality for every seat, moving beyond the previous limitations of a left/right system, which resulted in poor audio quality near the aisles,” explained Resident Sound Designer and Sound Department Manager, Michelle Ohumukini. “Ultimately, after demonstrations of available solutions on the market, the immersive object-based mixing of Soundscape was deemed the far superior option for manipulating and placing sound in the theatre’s in-the-round geometry.”
The new system, featuring d&b loudspeakers and subwoofers (including xS-Series 24S-D mains, XSLi-SUB, 21S-SUB, and xS-Series 44S fills flown in the round), was selected for its unmatched capabilities in creating fully immersive, story-driven audio experiences made possible via Soundscape.
“We use Soundscape as a fundamental tool for our sonic storytelling,” Ohumukini continues. “En-Space and En-Scene help us build worlds that align with the visuals and staging to create immersive, story-driven effects.”
“My favorite thing that I’ve done with Soundscape so far, was the iconic parting of the Red Sea in Prince of Egypt,” said Ohumukini. “I split our speakers down the middle and we used En-Scene to change levels and placements of objects to make it sound like the Sea was actually parting. It was very dramatic.”
In Beauty and the Beast, En-Scene was enlisted to create an unnerving, moving echo for the Beast’s roar. “We took the actor’s real growl and then sent it through DSP effects assigned as a different object, then moved that object around, so the growl repeated further and further away as it echoed,” said Ohumukini.
For Sister Act, HCT tapped En-Space to apply a cathedral reverb that intensified the moment the character, Dolores recognized the acoustics of the space she was in. “The character notices that there’s reverb and makes her voice louder,” shared Ohumukini. “We simultaneously brought up the levels in En-Space to really emphasize this.”
“Soundscape was also deployed in our smaller Jewel Box theatre, and with it I was able to meet our CEO’s playful challenge to ‘scare the children.’ When we used En-Space to move Marley’s ghost and a carriage around the audience, we may have scared them a little too much!,” laughs Ohumukini.
Soundscape was also utilized to solve a notoriously challenging acoustic space at the Hale Centre Theatre, its eight-seat VIP box.
“This secluded box seat area, positioned slightly higher than the regular seating, had the most challenging sound in the house. It was almost unusable for me as a sound designer and a poor experience for the major donors and diplomats who sat there,” shared Ohumukini. “To remedy this, we installed a dedicated d&b Soundscape rig exclusively for the box. This system operates independently, running on its own DS100 processor, and it replicates everything the Soundscape system is doing in the main theatre.”
The all d&b configuration for the VIP box includes three mains along the front, six surrounds, and an infrasub positioned below the seats. “The occupants feel everything,” shares Ohumukini. “And the VIP box now contains the best seats in the house. They’re coveted and everybody wants to sit there.”
Throughout the venue the d&b Soundscape installation has resulted in a highly engaged and natural listening experience for audiences, regardless of the performance. But ultimately, for Hale Centre Theatre, these technical feats serve a greater purpose.
“We’re here to tell stories. All the amazing technologies that have been installed don’t mean anything to our attendees. What they care about is that they feel a certain way when they when they come here…that the story moves them,” stresses Quinn Dietlein, Hale Centre’s Executive Director. “Soundscape accentuates our ability to enhance the narrative. So, from a storytelling perspective, that’s the greatest payoff for the theatre.”
About The System Configuration
The extensive d&b audiotechnik Soundscape system installed by the Hale Centre for their Centre Stage Theatre includes 12 x xS-Series 24S-D mains and 12 x 44S down fills attached to the mains, flown in-the-round. 8 x XSLi-SUB SVS subwoofers are rigged via 4 x custom brackets, 4 x 21S-SUB subwoofers are also utilized. Various xS-Series point source loudspeakers are utilized as fills including 18 x 44s (front fills), 21 x 10S-D (delays and mix fills), 32 x 10S-D (surrounds). Foldbacks include 4 x Yi7P (stage) and 12 x 44s (railing). 8 x 44S are utilized for Vom SFX. The VIP booth features 3 x 10S-D fronts and 6 x 5S surrounds. The system is powered by 10 x 40D and 26 x 5D Amplifiers. Processing for the entire Soundscape installation is provided by 2 x DS100 Signal Engines with En-Space, En-Scene, and En-Snap software licenses for both units.
About d&b audiotechnik.
d&b audiotechnik provides professional audio technology and solutions to accurately transfer passions through high-end quality speech and music reproduction. d&b audiotechnik is internationally regarded as a leading company for sound reinforcement systems in installed and mobile applications, with a reputation for quality of construction, standard of service, system integration principles, and pioneering technological development.
Founded in Germany in 1981, d&b audiotechnik headquarters are located in Backnang, near Stuttgart, where research, development and production take place. With sales offices in major cities around the world, the d&b audiotechnik team numbers more than 800 co-workers. www.dbaudio.com.