CULTVR, a creative hub based in Cardiff, UK, has installed a 360 degrees Soundscape system, aiming to introduce the next generation of creatives to the possibilities of spatial audio.
The 360 degrees d&b Soundscape system in CULTVR’s Theatre Dome was specified and installed by d&b partner, Southby Productions, enhancing the immersive arts centre, opening in 2019 as a first of its kind in the UK as well as Europe’s first ‘cross-disciplinary lab’.
As a key location for XR and the immersive opportunities of live performance, where the d&b Soundscape system sits as a key element of CULTVR’s toolkit.
The sound system upgrade aimed to expand the audio capability of the venue to the same level as the visuals, using a ring of 16 d&b 5S compact point-source loudspeakers, driven by 5D amplifiers. A DS100 signal processor is used to provide the level and delay settings to each speaker needed to create Soundscape’s naturalistic sound.
Four E15X-SUB subwoofers are also available for flexible use, either as part of the Soundscape system, or as a sub array for CULTVR’s performance-based events.
During installation, it was discovered that the venue’s dome was low dome and too thick for speakers to be placed behind it, resulting in a ‘ring’ that was set at 2.5mm. This presented challenges in covering each audience member with more than one speaker, while also ensuring that speakers are not in positions that blocked or cast shadows from the venue’s projectors.
Changes to the initial system were made, swapping the originally specified E8 loudspeakers with 5Ss, providing 100 degrees of conical dispersion instead of 90 degrees while also ensuring that every last centimetre of height could be achieved.
Photo credit: 4PI Productions, Rhys Davis