Powersoft’s install amplifier platform, Unica, is delivering intelligent, intelligible audio at the recently renovated Cine Teatro Liz Bastos in south-eastern Brazil, where a four-amplifier set-up is providing audio for an immersive Dolby Cinema experience while offering the flexibility to handle theatre, music, dance and lecture programming.
After years of closure, the cinema was purchased by the mayor’s office and comprehensively rebuilt and modernised, reopening to great fanfare earlier this year. As part of the renovation, local consultant Leonardo Pavanello Projetos was tasked with conceiving a completely new AVL system for the 571-seat venue, located in Itabirito, in the state of Minas Gerais.
For the audio component, the consultant specified a 7.1 surround sound set-up capable of delivering an all-encompassing 3D audio experience for filmgoers but which could, if needed, also allow for the use of spatial sound by visiting concert tours and other live events. The system would also need to be compact and energy efficient without compromising the quality of the audio.
To meet this challenging brief, systems integrators Multicom Engenharia and Universal Music Brazil selected the Unica platform as the engine for this new do-it-all sound system. Unica’s native AES67 connectivity enables integration with the Cine Teatro Liz Bastos’s Dolby Cinema processor (the technology behind Dolby Atmos surround sound), while Powersoft’s ArmoníaPlus software enables straightforward, intuitive channel patching and easy day-to-day control of the amplifier system.
Maximum efficiency is achieved through the power-sharing capabilities built into Unica. Using Powersoft’s Power Sharing Tool, the Universal Music Brazil and Multicom Engenharia teams were able to use the same amplifier to power and process both subwoofers and high-frequency response speakers, cutting rack space and total system cost while maintaining the output needed for both films and live shows.
The audio installation pairs two Unica 8K8 (8 × 1000 W) and two Unica 12K4 (4 × 3000 W) amplifiers with LS Áudio speakers and subs and a Dolby Cinema processor.