Anji Grand Theatre, Huzhou, China
In the north of China’s Zhejiang province lies Huzhou, a city with a rich history. It is one of the most important centers of traditional Chinese silk production and is world-renowned for its exceptionally high-quality white tea and its stunning bamboo forests. Huzhou also boasts over a thousand years of cultural significance in the region surrounding Taihu Lake in the Yangtze Delta.
To honor this valuable heritage, the Anji Culture and Arts Center was built—an architecturally striking structure inspired by bamboo leaves—which alone is worth a visit. At the heart of this cultural center, the Anji Grand Theatre was created: an immersive theater with over 1,300 seats, now considered one of the leading venues for modern 3D audio experiences.
Around 100 loudspeakers are used in this project. In addition to the SPECTRA 212 as the main system, numerous other speakers from the SONA and GRAVIS series ensure precise and even sound distribution. Particularly noteworthy is the ear-level perimeter sound, implemented with PIA line-array speakers. These excite the room much less while allowing exceptionally precise localization of all sound sources even over greater distances. It is also remarkable that, despite the use of quite different speaker concepts, there is virtually no perceptible change in sound when sources move around the audience.
The centerpiece of the immersive sound system is our K&F SCALA processor. Thanks to its exceptionally flexible and powerful routing capabilities, even highly complex applications can be implemented with precision.
“The wide range of routing options allowed me, during system calibration, to achieve excellent source localization for virtually every seat—whether under the balcony or centrally in the stalls. The immersive sound field thus maintains a consistently high level throughout the auditorium. Combined with the power of our speakers, this results in an overall system that is truly unmatched in sound quality. It is always impressive to experience the potential that modern sound systems offer today.”
Christoph Wöhler, Kling & Freitag
