With a history of more than 30 years, French theme park Futuroscope has recently added an €11m audiovisual experience with an Alcons Audio system delivering its soundtrack.
Opened in 1992 as The Magic Carpet, the multi-million Euro update of Futuroscope’s Imax cinema has seen it reinvented as L’Extraordinaire Voyage, accommodating 84 spectators in a triple row of seats on a platform that turns vertical (so the rows are now sitting above each other) and takes them on a dynamic ten-minute ‘flight’ around the world, accompanied by an orchestral soundtrack and sound effects, plus smells and wind.
Complementing the attraction’s 600m2 hemispherical screen is a 12+1 Alcons Audio pro-ribbon system, supplied by the company’s French distributor Audiolead and installed by Tedelec Audiovisuel. ‘We needed a system that would match the drama of the visual experience, playing the soundtrack at a comparatively high volume, but with no compromise on quality,’ says Futuroscope Technical Manager, Yannis Marchet. ‘The system also had to be mounted so that the sound from the surround loudspeakers could match the directional subtlety of the video.’
An added complication for Tedelec was that the audience platform physically moves up and down during the presentation, to give a more convincing feeling of ‘flying’. This meant that the surround system had to also have a vertical dimension, to seamlessly cover all of the audience whatever position the platform is in.
A number of different systems were evaluated, with an Alcons C-series surround system being preferred. The multichannel 12+1 system is installed behind the screen and comprises five CRS12GT/90 large-format, high-output 12-inch reference surround units for the five main LL, L, C, R, RR front channels, five CCS12 large-format 12-inch surround units for the ‘higher’ and two more for the ‘lower’ height dimension, and four CB362 high-output double 18-inch subwoofers.
The system is powered and controlled by three Sentinel3 and one Sentinel10, four-channel amplified loudspeaker controllers. Six CMRS-SR reference pro-ribbon surround units are to be added to give even greater depth to the sound effects.
‘The acoustics presented a real challenge for Tedelec, because it is a large space without any damping,’ says Audiolead’s Bruno Ghidionesco. ‘The Alcons pro-ribbon drivers can fire through the screen, without any of the problems of reflections off the back of it from horn-loaded loudspeakers, and their perfectly-controlled directivity means that the coverage and clarity is exceptional for such a dynamic audience experience.’
‘The quality of the pro-ribbon drivers were a key reason for choosing Alcons,’ Marchet adds. ‘The system delivers very high quality sound, without distortion or sounding overly aggressive. Together with the seamless coverage, it means L’Extraordinaire Voyage audiences enjoy an experience that perfectly matches the consistently high standards of Futuroscope.’
