SOMETIMES EVEN THE BEST PROJECTS can go awry, though problems can be solved with the right combination of technology and expertise. Such was recently the case at VivoCity, Singapore’s largest shopping mall, located in the HarbourFront precinct of the city. In 2011, a large video wall measuring 5,376mm x 2,880mm was installed. At the time the video portion of the installation was hailed as a great success but the audio side of the project was more problematic due to the highly reverberant nature of its location.

ositioned on the third oor of the mall, the screen faces onto a wide, high-ceilinged space lled with hard surfaces, broad windows and a marble oor. At the time of the original installation, a plan was formed to combat the conditions with a deliberately small-scale audio install, but the results were signi cantly less successful than was hoped.

‘The video screen has been there for almost three years now and we’ve never been able to properly play sound,’ explains Nicholas Tan of Sentosa Leisure Management Pte Ltd. ‘The screen did have four small 5.25-inch speakers but we were not able to project the sound due to the nature of the concourse. It’s almost like an airport it’s highly re ective, very reverberant and so it’s very hard to have any sound in there. We struggled with it, keeping the sound level really low. If you wanted to hear the content then you almost had to put your ear next to the speakers.’

Mr Tan is quick to stress that the problem lay not with the speakers themselves but the restrictions of the environment in which they had been installed. During the initial project, everyone concerned was well aware of the dif culties that had to be overcome. ‘At that point in time we were considering various

solutions. We knew we couldn’t have large speakers – we didn’t want to have a 12-inch or 10-inch woofer. So we went for small models with a long throw. That was the whole idea – not too much SPL and close range. But it didn’t work. It was frustrating – we even went as far as trying subtitles.’

Finally, after an invitation for bidders to propose a solution, the problem has now been eliminated as part of a wider renovation of the concourse. ‘They are redecorating the whole area with new outlets, new kiosks and an improved décor, so this has come at the right time,’ enthuses Mr Tan. Moreover, the updated screen now represents something of a landmark for the company behind the refurbishment – Control Logic Systems Pte Ltd (CLSPL). Having very recently formed a relationship with Germany’s Fohhn Audio, the

systems integrator used the VivoCity screen as its rst Singaporean demonstration of the manufacturer’s beam steering capabilities.

‘We have equipped the screen with Fohhn LFI-220 columns, one per-side,’ explains CLSPL’s David Seow, who rst suggested the 2.2m line arrays, which form part of the manufacturer’s Linea Focus range. However, there was a further challenge to meet. ‘With a line array, the longer the column, the better the sound,’ Mr Seow continues, ‘but while we can produce high speech intelligibility and good background music, there was no punch.’

The search began for a way to cover the concourse with impactful low-end without losing control of the system’s overall performance. The answer became another notable achievement for Mr Seow – his rst subwoofer array. ‘We have positioned four

XS-30 subwoofers in a row right below the screen,’ he con rms. ‘ ou have a line array that is vertical, so we did a subwoofer array that is horizontal. And in subwoofer arrays, the more subwoofers you have the better it sounds.’

However, the idea was initially met with scepticism. ‘ ou come up against cost issues and space problems,’ he explains. ‘But I realised that if I installed a left-right sub con guration then it would boom at the sides, there would be no control. So then I considered cardioid, to push the sound to the front with nothing at the back. But then again it just goes everywhere. So I discussed it with Fohhn and we thought of installing the horizontal array.’

At rst, even Mr Seow was unsure if the plan would work, but a demonstration on the concourse proved the concept. ‘I was sceptical, I didn’t think you could control low frequencies that much,’ he concedes. ‘But when I tried it the coverage stayed in the perimeter.’

The result certainly made an impression with the Sentosa team. ‘At rst we thought that two 15-inch subwoofers was more than enough but David wanted to install four,’ grins Mr Tan. ‘We thought it would be too much! But it’s good – you can hear the thumping bass in the de ned zone then when you step out you can still hear the bass but it’s not loud. ou can still have a conversation. The performance is really impressive – the system focuses only on a certain area of the concourse.’

‘The columns provide excellent control and with four subs we have been able to make the performance really soft and warm,’ concludes Mr Seow. ‘I think everyone was taken by surprise.’

www.clspl.com

www.fohhn.com

FEATURES: INSTALLATION

The video wall within Singapore’s VivoCity mall now sounds as good as it looks following a landmark refurbishment, writes Barney Jameson

Audio for video

112 PRO AUDIO ASIA March–April 2015

Sentosa’s Nicholas Tan The screen is intended to be a centrepoint of the concourse

During the installation of the Fohhn system