ACE supplies 111 JBL system for launch of Chinas Giant Screen
Published: ASIA
CHINA: The recent Beijing launch of China’s answer to Imax – dubbed the Giant Screen – used an 11.1 surround sound system comprised of models from the JBL cinema speaker range. Housed at the Beijing UME International Cinema, the Giant Screen’s audio system was supplied and installed by Harman distributor ACE.
The launch as came as part of the Giant Screen System and Demo Seminar which was organised in December by the China Film Science and Technology Research Institute. The screen itself is described by Yang Shupei, the director of the Institute, as ‘lower in cost and also better in brightness and sound’ than its famous competitor. According to the Institute, more than 30 duplicate systems are set to open throughout China in the coming year.
At the heart of the 11.1 audio design are three JBL 5674 three-way systems positioned behind the screen and providing L-C-R channels augmented by two JBL 4722N two-way ScreenArray cabinets positioned to the left and right of the screen, enhancing the surround effect. A further 30 8350 surround speakers are installed throughout the auditorium to the left and right of the audience as well as on the ceiling and to the rear of the seating. Four JBL 4642A subwoofers provide low end, while the entire system is powered by 25 Crown DSi Series amplifiers.
Following a screening of the Jet Li blockbuster The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate, one attendee reportedly blogged that the experience left him feeling ‘in the film rather than in the theatre’.