Krung Thai Bank has opened the Krungthai Innovation Lab at its head office in Bangkok, Thailand, providing space to work on emerging technologies for its banking services, innovation around the use of data, and improvements to products and processes across the company.

At the heart of the facility is the Showcase Stadium, which is used for announcements, product launches, and other events throughout the year. It features a 26ft x 7ft display and can host a small group of on-site viewers in addition to offering live broadcast. However, the stadium is located in an open floor plan environment near one of the facilities’ main reception areas. This means the ability limit sound dispersion to the audience area was key to the auddio aspect of the project.

‘We knew from the start that beam steering technology would be crucial, so we went with the very best in Renkus-Heinz,’ says Juthamas Jailuck, Marketing Supervisor at Vichai Trading, the firm that designed and installed the A/V system. ‘In addition to the need to keep sound directed in one place so it doesn’t interrupt banking operations, the flooring is tile and there are a number of hard surfaces that cause interfering reflections. Renkus-Heinz’s beam steering technology addresses these problems in one package.’

Vichai Trading installed Renkus-Heinz ICL-F-RN arrays on both sides of the super-wide display, with two CF18S-5 active subwoofers to complement the arrays. By using this level of control with Renkus-Heinz’s Rhaon software – which allows for programming on-site – the Vichai team was able to ensure audio stayed solely on the audience in the Showcase Stadium.

The benefits to the bank were twofold – by positioning audio appropriately, sound was not being directed out into the reception area where it would disturb regular banking operations and, by ensuring sound was not hitting reflective surfaces within the space, the audio quality and clarity was improved for listeners on-site. Further, reducing reflected sound in the room means the talent’s microphones don’t pick up additional sound, keeping the broadcast audio clean.

‘The IC Live provides exactly what Renkus-Heinz promises – the means to make the space sonically amazing without any acoustic treatment,’ says Vichai Trading Project Sales Engineer, Phuriphat Sutthivanichkul. ‘This is the biggest advantage you get in trusting Renkus-Heinz. It’s also worth mentioning that the loudspeakers have a very good appearance. They come in a compact footprint, which looks great, and still offers high output sound that can be used in live performances, music and for speeches.’

‘The bank is extremely happy because of the rich sound they have in the space,’ Jailuck adds. ‘It’s another excellent installation we’ve completed thanks to our partnership with Renkus-Heinz.’