The first phase of China’s 20 billion yuan ($3.16 billion) Changbai Mountain International Tourist Resort opened in 2012. The resort features five-star hotels and Asia’s largest ski resort. A centrepiece of the development is a performing arts theatre, where Apex audio processors and DiGiCo mixing consoles were selected to ensure that audiences enjoy the evenings as much as their time on the piste.
Changbai Mountain is located on the border with North Korea, with the Chinese side a 494,000 acre nature reserve that is already a popular international tourist destination. The new resort’s 26 miles of ski runs will draw many more visitors and the Changbaishan Grand Theatre has been built as part of the comprehensive accommodation and entertainment facilities.
Built by the Beijing Aotewei Development Company, the theatre features a cutting edge audio specification, supplied and installed by Rightway Audio Consultants, one of China’s leading professional audio distributors. The company specified five Apex Intelli-X² 48 processors and DiGiCo SD8 and SD10 mixing consoles.
The four in, eight out Intelli-X² 48 provides the entire range system management tools necessary for comprehensive system alignment and EQ, including IIR and FIR-based crossovers. Featuring internal processing up to 192 kHz as standard, high-end studio-grade analogue circuit designs and mastering-grade compressors, it sets the benchmark in system management and speaker processing design, but is simple to integrate into any network and also to operate.
“Audiences will be visiting the theatre from across the world and so it is very important that everything is of the highest quality, to ensure that they want to visit again,” says April Fung, Rightway business development coordinator. “We specified Apex and DiGiCo equipment because it delivers optimum audio quality and ensures the system can be used for any kind of production.”
DiGiCo’s SD8 and SD10 deliver all the facilities that Front of House and monitor engineers need for every type of live event, combining an exceptional specification with intuitive operation and a compact footprint. The onboard Stealth Digital Processing provides unparalleled sonic quality and processing power, making sure that every show at the Changbaishan Grand Theatre has a great sense of occasion.
“It is very important for the theatre to attract high calibre performers. DiGiCo mixers are well-known and used on the highest profile shows, so they were an obvious choice,” adds April. “The system has been working perfectly and the theatre is very happy with the results.”
