The Suita City Cultural Hall – or May Theater – in Japan’s Osaka prefecture is a performing arts and cultural centre that opened in 1985. The cultural centre includes a 1,400-seat large performance hall, a 492-set sized hall, a small hall of 156 seats and exhibition space. The venue hosts concerts, operas and kabuki theatre, as well as social gatherings and art exhibitions.
In July 2019, the theatre began a thorough renovation, which included updating the sound system in its large performance hall – a point source system that was well over 20 years old. ‘The loudspeakers were placed inside a speaker box, which made it impossible to deliver uniform sound quality throughout the auditorium,’ explains sound engineer, Satoshi Tanio.
Tanio’s team evaluated the options open to them, before selecting L-Acoustics: ‘We chose L-Acoustics because they are pioneers and leaders in the development of line array speakers, and because their systems all have good phase characteristics,’ he explains.
Japan Advanced Technology Operations (JATO) was tasked with upgrading the theatre’s loudspeakers to a line array, which it did with the support of L-Acoustics Certified Provider Distributor, Bestec Audio.
JATO’s Taiki Imamura knew that the May Theater was working with a constrained budget, so he proposed a Kiva II-based line array system. ‘I was confident that the Kiva II, with its powerful SPL offered the perfect balance between price and quality,’ he explains.
Shigeru Matsuo from the JATO installation team designed the system n collaboration with the May Theater team. ‘During the design and installation process, we used L-Acoustics Soundvision 3D simulation software, which provided us with a clear idea of what the finished system would sound like throughout the venue,’ Matsuo says. The theatre team was able to provide CAD files of the performance space, allowing JATO to precisely determine loudspeaker placements.
The final configuration of the sound comprises a proscenium system for the main hall of 11 Kiva II with two SB15 subwoofers flown behind. On each side, eight Kiva II, two SB15m boxes and a single SB18i are rigged alongside an X12 foras fill. Eight X8i are also set under the stage as front fill. Seven LA4X amplified controllers drive the system, connected to the mixing console via AES. To minimise cable lengths, the amplified controllers are placed just behind the proscenium’s arch. For events that require more powerful reinforcement, the theatre has a mobile system of six Kiva II boxes with two SB15m and two SB18 per side, plus six X12 and six X8 monitors, with two LA8 amplified controllers.
‘The Kiva II has dramatically improved sound clarity throughout the hall,’ May Theater Stage Manager Koho Maekawa says.
