The hometown of Confucius, Qufu is also home to the Nishan Holy Land commemoration site and cultural heritage destination. Recently it hosted the Mid-Autumn Festival Party for the China Media Group centred on a 60m-wide stage and large set served by an Alcons Audio pro-ribbon LR28 larger-format line array system.

With an audience of 5,000 seated in an arena 80m wide by 100m deep, several audio challenges faced the event’s audio director Liu Yibin – lead sound engineer for China Central Television (CCTV) and chief sound engineer for the event – Mr Xu. Because of the arena’s size, the FOH system had to be positioned and aligned very accurately. The festival site was also close to Mount Ni and the Nishan Reservoir, meaning strong breezes and changing humidity could cause problems with the sound.

To overcome the potential issues, an Alcons Audio LR28 larger-format line array system was chosen, supplied by Alcons Chinese distributor and Pro-Ribbon partner EAD. The main system comprised flown LR clusters, each of 14 LR28/80 and two LR28/110 wide dispersion modules, plus three LR18 compact mid-size line array modules for down fill per side. Six groundstacked groups of three LR18 were used across the front of the stage for fills, with 14 BC543 very high-output cardioid subwoofers arranged in LR stacks of seven each.

Due to the width of the stage, two more BC543 were used to enhance the bass in the central stage area. The system was powered and controlled by 28 Alcons Sentinel10 amplified loudspeaker controllers.

The HF section, the critical element of any line-array, in the LR28 comprises the multiple-patented, purpose-designed RBN1402rs 14-inch pro-ribbon transducer with 3kW peak power handling and a 1:15 dynamic RMS-to-peak power ratio. For below 1kHz were four high-output 6.5-inch midranges and two 14-inch woofers.

The site was modelled in Ease Focus software, which showed that the system would provide the required sound pressure level and even coverage. The CCTV audio team then used Alcons’ ALControl software to quickly and easily build the network system control for the arrays.

‘Thanks to the directivity, all-natural cylindrical wavefront and exceptional throw of Alcons Audio’s pro-ribbon technology, a strong breeze and high humidity did not affect the transmission of sound at all. The pro-ribbon drivers of the LR28 system really pushed the high frequencies, ensuring very low distortion and maintaining a very clear sound for the whole audience,’ says Xu.

‘The Alcons Audio system ensured that the sound was very clear and accurate for all of the 5000 people in the arena,’ Liu Yibin agrees. ‘The sound pressure level was maintained perfectly to the far back and sides of the audience, keeping a very even soundfield throughout.’