CINEASIA, MACAU—Dec 4, 2007
JBL Professional and Crown International Supply Bell Theatre Services with Advanced Cinema Sound System for London’S Transformed O2 Dome Theater
The Harman Pro Group announced that it had provided Bell Theatre Services in London with JBL Screen Array® loudspeakers and Crown amplifiers for the newly redesigned “The 02” in London.
Formerly the Millennium Dome, the completely overhauled and renamed O2 has been outfitted with the most advanced equipment to serve as a London 2012 Olympic venue. It contains a 20,000-seat arena, over 20 restaurants and bars and an 11-screen cinema multiplex. Bell Theatre Services was tasked with the cinema system design and installation and relied on Harman Pro Group sound systems to meet the high standards set for this venue.
“The standards for this project were very high,” said Max Bell, Managing Director, Bell Theatre Services. “And I chose Harman Pro Group systems because I consider that they have the best products on the market. My company has installed JBL loudspeakers in more than 750 cinemas and many post production sound facilities in the UK during the last 20 years and we are now installing, exclusively, Crown power amplifiers to drive them. I highly recommend both products.”
Bell relied on the ScreenArray range of JBL loudspeakers including model 3632 bi-amplified for stage speakers in six of the screens, with surround speakers being the 8340A and twelve subwoofers, model 4645C. Four other screens use12 of the ScreenArray model 4632, also bi-amplified as stage speakers with identical subs and surrounds. Screen 11 employed five JBL 5632 Custom Screen Array models with twelve 4645C subwoofers and twenty-eight of the 8340A as surround speakers.
A total of sixty Crown DSi2000 amplifiers were used in screens 1 through 9 as well as Crown DSi 8M booth monitors. For screen 11 Crown CTs2000s were installed to drive high frequency, high-mids and subwoofers. Crown CTs3000s were used for low frequency and low-mids, while four CTs8200s were dedicated to the surround speakers.
Commenting on the installation, Stephen Morris, Harman Pro Group Vice President Cinema Sales & Marketing, noted “The O2 Dome is a remarkable example of how forward-thinking architectural design can integrate with an advanced audio systems design to provide a stunning entertainment experience for all. The Harman Pro Cinema Group is very pleased to work with innovators like Max Bell and his team at Bell Theater Services and we look forward to helping BTS advance the state-of-the art for cinema experiences throughout the UK.”
