Harman powers Lokshahir Annabhau Sathe Auditorium
Published: ASIA
INDIA: The recently completed Lokshahir Annabhau Sathe Auditorium in the Indian city of Pune has been outfitted with A/V equipment from Harman Professional throughout the facility. Local systems integrator, Zillion Solutions, was awarded the installation contract, which drew on JBL, Crown and dbx products.
The 850-seat facility was built to host Marathi-language theatrical productions under the auspices of government agency, Pune Municipal Corporation. The facility was named after the noted social reformer and writer, Annabhau Sathe, and features an understated yet striking architectural design and an elegant interior.
‘We needed a system that provided high-quality sound with even coverage throughout the auditorium, and was easy to operate and also totally reliable once installed,’ stated Pankaj Pansare, owner of Zillion Solutions. ‘The time span to install the audio system was only five days! Five days for everything – from receiving the loudspeakers and components to installing, EQing and calibrating the system in time for opening night.’
In addition to the tight time constraints, the project was extra special for Mr Pansare, as it was the first government project Zillion Solutions had ever undertaken.
‘We’ve had a long-standing relationship with Zillion Solutions over the course of many successful projects,’ noted Rohan Tadke, national sales manager, Harman Pro India. ‘They know our products offer sound quality, performance and reliability that’s second to none and we know they trust us as a valued partner to provide technical and design assistance and deliver products on time no matter what.’
Harman supplied Zillion with 12 JBL VRX932LA-1 loudspeakers as well as two VRX915S subwoofers, two SRX712M stage monitors and 10 Control 1 wall-mountable loudspeakers. The cabinets are driven by seven Crown XTi 6002 amplifiers, with additional processing provided via a dbx DriveRack 4800 speaker management system, dbx 234 stereo crossover and 231 dual-31-band EQ. Harman’s HiQnet Audio Architect software was used to calibrate the system.
No fill speakers were specified by the architect, so the installers opted to cover both the main auditorium floor and the balcony area with the VRX cabinets. The upper line array elements were aimed at the balcony and operated at higher volume via the DriveRack 4800. ‘This combination actually works so well that we don’t miss the presence of fill loudspeakers at all,’ pointed out Mr Pansare.
‘The engineers from Pune Municipal Corporation were highly impressed with the sound quality and performance of the system and its ability to deliver even coverage and clear, intelligible audio throughout the auditorium,’ conclude Mr Pansare. ‘Because of the hard work and dedication of our team and the support that Harman provided, the system was working a day earlier than we promised.’