Since opening its doors in 1980, the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (JACCC) has provided a focus for the Japanese-American community in Los Angeles. Central to its activities is the 880-seat Aratani Theatre, which stages a variety of performances ranging from music to dance and drama.

Located in LA’s Little Tokyo, JACCC is presently one of the largest ethnic art and cultural centres in the US but, until recently, was let down by its sound system. Calling in audio consultant Gerald Ishibashi, the theatre was measured and a Renkus-Heinz IC2 steered array was recommended for front of house, and RH-Series systems for stage monitors.

‘The Aratani is a nicely designed room, but the existing system was not a full-range solution,’ Ishibashi explains. ‘There have been continual issues with poor intelligibility and inconsistent coverage in some areas. I’ve used Renkus-Heinz products for years, and their beam steering technology is just the best there is. When the new IC2 systems were introduced, I felt it would be a great solution for the sound issues in the hall.’

For the FOH system, Ishibashi chose a pair of IC2-FR Digitally Steerable arrays for either side of the stage. ‘We brought the IC2 cabinets into the room and, because the arrays are steerable, we were able to ground stack them instead of flying the arrays, which eliminated line-of-sight issues,’ he says. ‘Ralph Heinz came in and commissioned the system, and it sounded great. The clarity and articulation was just amazing, and it was consistent to every seat in the house.’

For stage monitors, Ishibashi used six RH123 and a pair of RH153 three-way wedges. ‘The first test of the system was a live performance by The Association,’ he reports. ‘Being a vocal group, I knew this concert would be a good test of both the house and monitor systems. After the show, the band members were ecstatic about the sound, both on stage and in the theatre.’

A subsequent show with Jackson Browne confirmed the choice: ‘Jackson’s engineer has exceptionally high standards, and I could see he was initially a bit sceptical of the system,’ says Ishibashi. ‘After the show, he made it a point to tell me how happy he was with the sound. That’s the thing with the IC2 - people are initially sceptical because they are used to a curved line array. But everybody that hears the IC2s loves them.’

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