The Xi’an Grand Theatre has opened in Xi’an’s High-tech Zone as Northwest China’s first high-end performance venue with L-Acoustics systems installed across all four of its performance spaces. The complex features L-ISA immersive audio experience with full surround technology in its 1,600-seat Opera Hall, A series in its 1,200-seat Concert Hall, and L-Acoustics installations in its 1,000-seat experimental theatre and 300-seat rehearsal hall.
Designed by Pritzker Prize laureate Wang Shu in his first theatre project in over 40 years, the complex serves as the cultural hub of the Silk Road Science City's Central Innovation Zone. Open 24 hours to the public, the venue is designed to host everything from grand operas and symphony concerts to children’s theatre, electronic music events, and experimental performances.
The Opera Hall’s L-ISA technology delivers spatial audio throughout the 1,600-seat space, breaking free from traditional sweet spot limitations. The installation features a scene system of five hangs of 10 Kara IIi each, with extension hangs of 10 Kara IIi on either side. Two sets of four KS28 subwoofers rigged centrally behind the scene system provide low-end definition.
The full surround configuration includes 32 X8 enclosures strategically positioned on the side and rear walls of the first floor and second-floor balcony, with an overhead height system of 16 X8 speakers installed on the ceiling and under the balcony. Custom cement grey finishes on the X8 systems integrate seamlessly with the hall’s bamboo-patterned fair-faced concrete interior—a design element that echoes the Zhongnan Mountains’ bamboo forests south of Xi'an.
Twelve compact 5XT boxes provide spatial front-fill across the stage lip, while eight 5XT handle orchestra pit duties, creating a seamless sound field from stage to audience.
“L-ISA significantly optimises the uniformity of the sound field within the Opera Hall, ensuring that every audience member is at the centre of the sound field," said Xie Wenbo, Project Engineer of Rightway Audio Consultants (RAC), which led the installation across all four spaces.
Wenbo added: “Audiences can clearly perceive the movement of actors, experience sounds passing overhead or lingering nearby, and hear the layers and details of a symphony orchestra with unprecedented vividness.”
The Opera Hall’s versatile staging structure, equipped with six sets of lifts, 12 side stage wagons, and 75 electric fly bars, accommodates productions ranging from Western and traditional Chinese operas to musicals and symphony concerts. According to China’s Design Code for Sound Reinforcement Systems in Halls and Stadiums (GB/T 28049-2011), the Opera Hall’s acoustic parameters fully meet first-class standards for artistic performances.
The 1,200-seat Concert Hall features an A10i Focus and Wide main LCR system which consists of six L-Acoustics A10i Focus and Wide for the left and right hangs, and three A10i Focus and Wide for the central hang. The hall’s acoustic design, led by world-renowned specialist Yasuhisa Toyota in his first China project, blends shoebox and terrace layouts with adjustable seating that eliminates the gap between audience and stage.
The Concert Hall accommodates chamber music, stage plays, and classical performances with the pure sound reproduction that L-Acoustics concert sound systems are known for. Every aspect of the hall’s form and materials were calculated and tested through acoustic modelling to ensure exceptional audio quality throughout the space.
The 1,000-seat experimental theatre and 300-seat rehearsal hall also feature L-Acoustics systems, maintaining consistency across the entire Xi'an Grand Theatre complex. The experimental theatre's dual-proscenium design and twelve stage lifts enable rapid transformations between interconnected indoor and outdoor performances.
The Opera Hall’s L-ISA ecosystem is driven by DiGiCo Quantum338 mixing console and L-ISA Processor for real-time algorithm and signal management, combined with LightAct media server for rendering sound objects. This allows precise placement of every sonic element in three-dimensional space.
Installation across the four spaces required meticulous planning to integrate ideal speaker placement with the venue’s extensive use of prefabricated concrete panels and wooden structures throughout its interiors. RAC provided L-ISA training and on-site technical support to help the Xi’an Grand Theatre technical team adapt to the new systems during the complex's launch performances.
The venue’s exterior walls blend glazed bricks and stone masonry in colors inspired by Tang Dynasty blue-and-green landscape paintings, while interior spaces utilise bamboo-patterned fair-faced concrete that maintains the natural essence of materials.
“What the L-ISA system brings to Xi’an Grand Theatre is not just technology but sound art that transcends technical boundaries,” concluded Mr. Xie. “This comprehensive installation positions the venue to attract world-class artists for generations.”