The theatrical production Going Rural made its debut at the China National Opera House this fall, featuring an L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound configuration with a BlackTrax tracking system that transformed the traditional theatrical experience into a 360° immersive audio journey.
Han Hongzhi, vice president of China society of Stage Art and director of Audio Professional Committee, commented: "I have many years of experience in this industry, yet I was still amazed by what L-ISA brought to this theatrical production. The sound on stage and the actors' subtle expressions achieved perfect harmony. The vocal clarity was exceptional, and the positioning accuracy brought audiences directly into the story. As a national theater company, China Coal Mine Art Troupe has achieved remarkable results with this production."
Sound designer Zhang Haikun worked with L-Acoustics certified system engineers to create a sound system that could meet the production's creative demands while working within the venue's physical constraints. The team used L-Acoustics Soundvision 3D simulation software to precisely calculate coverage requirements and optimise speaker placement.
The resulting 360° L-ISA configuration featured five main arrays, each comprising two A15 Focus and two A15 Wide enclosures, chosen specifically for their compact 35kg weight and medium-throw capabilities. Two hangs of two KS21 subwoofers were positioned behind the center A15 array. Ten 5XT speakers were evenly distributed across the stage lip for spatial front-fill, while ten X8 enclosures spaced around the side and back walls provided surround sound. The entire system was processed through dual L-ISA Processor II servers with Milan-AVB networking, utilizing L-Acoustics LC16D network audio bridge.
Performers wore BlackTrax beacons that communicated real-time positioning data to the L-ISA system, ensuring that dialogue and vocals maintained accurate spatial positioning regardless of stage movement.