Hurrairah bin Sohail talks to EAS about the AV upgrade at the Singapore Conference Hall, a project that was a finalist for the 2019 Inavation Awards in the Leisure & Entertainment Facility category.
Completed in 1965, the Singapore Conference Hall has housed multiple international conferences and exhibitions over the
years. In 2001, Singapore’s late
founding Prime Minister Lee
Kuan Yew reopened the venue
to be the home of the Singapore
Chinese Orchestra.
The Singapore Conference
Hall also holds the honour of
becoming the first structure built
in Singapore’s post-colonial
period to be gazetted as a
national monument, achieving
this milestone in 2010.
Acviron Acoustics was
appointed as the AV consultant
for the project while ElectroAcoustics Systems [EAS] served
as the integrator. Design, supply,
delivery, installation, testing and
commissioning of the audio,
video and lighting systems all
fell under the remit of EAS.
Lam Tze Tze, executive director
at EAS, talks about the initial
conversations regarding the
project: “Our goal was to deliver
variable reverberation time to
optimise the acoustics of the
Singapore Conference Hall and
to cater to the different music
genres, such as orchestral
performances, live events and
presentations, that are hosted at
the venue. We were also tasked
with improving the video quality
and upgrading the video system
from 2K to 4K readiness.”
Lam continues: “The client
gave full priority to the audio
component of the project and was
uncompromising with regards to
the loudspeaker placement, to
ensure optimal sound quality.
This is understandable since the
Singapore Conference Hall is
home to the nation’s Singapore
Chinese Orchestra.”
This particular Meyer Sound
Constellation system is one of the
largest installations of its kind in
Southeast Asia, comprising of 26
units of UP-4XP dual 4-in and
39 MM-4XP single 4-in models,
12 dual 10-in UMS-1XPSM
subwoofers and 44 Stella-4C
ceiling speakers which are
installed on the stage wall for
the benefit of the orchestra.
Other Constellation units
include 12 UPJunior-XP point
source cabinets installed along
with 19 overhead UPM-1XP dual
5-in models and four UMS-
1XPSM on-stage speakers. These
complete the stage zone.
A carefully distributed network
of 35 condenser microphones
installed above the stage and
seating areas continuously
senses and feeds ambient
physical acoustic information.
In the back of house, audio
input is managed by a DCM-4
digital core matrix via two
D-Mitri DAI-24 input modules
before outputting to three DCP
core processors. Four racked
D-Mitri VRAS modules
containing stored SSD
measurement data and audio
files are added to provide
dedicated input channels and
processing information for the
zones they serve. Two network
switches are included for full
redundancy while six DAO-24
modules transmit the audio
signals from the core to the
speaker system.
EAS also integrated 16
MPS488HP external power
supplies together with two
Galaxy 816 modules for full DSP
control for the main front of
house line array system.
CueStation software is utilised
to remotely monitor and control
the D-Mitri mixing and routing
parameters. With the inclusion
of two Galaxy 816 processors, the
front of house reinforcement
system can function separately
or concurrently with
Constellation.
The front of house system
incorporates 14 units per side
of Meyer Mica line array
loudspeakers, coupled with three
Meyer 1100-LFC 18-in subwoofers
at stage centre with large format,
point source, wide coverage
provided by a single Meyer
UPQ-1P unit. In addition, Meyer
UP Junior-XP units are deployed
for side-fills.
Sennheiser’s range of Digital
9000 and Digital 6000 wireless
microphones with a combination
of wireless handheld and
bodypack transmitters were
selected for uncompressed
digital audio transmission. A
total of 16 channels from each of
the digital range were installed
with Dante connectivity and a
wide selection of microphone
capsules ranging from
Sennheiser and Neumann
were employed.
To ensure individuals needing
auditory assistance are not
compromised, a Williams Sound
MOD 232-02 two-channel
infrared modulator is connected
to WIR TX9-02 infrared emitters
and RX22-4N receivers, providing
enhanced assistive listening
capabilities.
Jackie Tay, assistant director
(concert production) at
Singapore Chinese Orchestra,
says: “Quality was the main
consideration when it came to
audio and it guided all decisions
from the design process to the
deployment phase. Adjusting the
architectural acoustic properties
to enhance and control early
reflections and optimising
reverberation while preserving
the hall’s acoustics with key
ingredients to deliver a high quality sonic experience, with
warmth and resonance, was our
goal. Meyer Sound Constellation
system was selected because it fit
the bill.”
Regarding the selection of
speakers, Terence Ho, executive
director at Singapore Chinese
Orchestra, says: “The adoption of
Constellation allows the client to
adapt to different genres and
uses without having to rebuild
the hall specifically for orchestral
acoustics. The musicians can
now rehearse in their own
familiar acoustic environment
for their performances.”
Installing the speakers was
not straight forward and Lam
discusses one of the unique
aspects of the project: “The
Singapore Conference Hall is a
heritage site. Many meetings with
various parties ensued including
the preservation society to ensure
that any proposed developments
would observe regulations in
place to protect the integrity
of the building.”
Video at the Singapore
Conference Hall is handled by
an Analog Way Ascender 16-4K
multi-output 4K switcher with
dual scaled layers that provide
video switching to a 20,000
lumens HD projector which casts
visuals on an 8m x 4.5m TabTensioned motorised projection
screen manufactured by Stewart
Filmscreen.
In addition, two portable
Christie D12HD-H HD projectors
provide video display to the side
stage. A Vertige VRC300 control
console provides user interface
for video source selection and
seamless switching to all the
displays.
Transmission of 4K resolution
was achieved using HDBaseT
technology and Cat6 STP cables
with HDBaseT transmitter and
receiver pairs being used to carry
to signal to each of the displays.
Regarding the video system,
Lam says: “As with all
international performing
arts centres and theatres, ease
of operation was the main
consideration as the control
console is used for live events.
We provided seamless input
switching with multiple input
plugs for a range of ports
comprising HDMI, DisplayPort,
DVI-I, Universal Analog and
HD-SDI along with similar
output providing flexibility
configurations.”
To conclude, Lam talks about
the challenges EAS faced:
“Despite the challenging
timeframe, we are proud to have
participated in the upgrade and
installation of a world-known
system into the iconic Singapore
Conference Hall. The on-time
and successful completion of
this project would not have been
possible without great team work,
project management and the
professionalism of all team
members on board.”