Chinatown is a recreation of a 1930’s style Vaudeville cabaret providing its Shanghai audience all-night live performances featuring singers, dancers, magicians and other burlesque attractions.
Achieving the highest quality sound reproduction while maintaining the visual aesthetic of the period was the mandate set by the club’s proprietor Norman Gosney.
To accomplish this goal Sennheiser microphones and K-array speaker systems were chosen.
Sennheiser E910 condenser mics are used for the 4-piece band that provides the pre-show music.
The cabaret stage show is played to backing tracks with the singers using Sennheiser Hand Held wireless microphones.
The band and stage monitor speakers are K-array KK50 half-meter line array elements powered by a single K-array KA10-10 4-channel, D-class amplifier.
The club is wide and shallow with an upper balcony. Conventional wisdom would dictate the use of multiple, distributed delay speakers. K-array’s unique design allows for a different and much simpler and coherent solution, with all the sound emanating from the stage. The house sound system employs two K-array KK200 speakers on each side of the proscenium. With its very wide horizontal coverage capabilities and the resultant four meter tall vertical line array the KK200 system provides full and very focused coverage of the venue from the floor right up to the balcony. The speakers are only 6 cm. wide. Mounted on the proscenium behind the red velvet stage curtains they are completely invisible to the audience. An equalization pre-set programmed into the digital amplifiers compensates for any high-frequency absorption.
Two K-array KL18 subwoofers handle the bottom end. The entire main sound system is powered by a pair of KA-10 D-class amplifiers.
Anna Patterson, General Manager says, “The artists and musicians who perform at Chinatown Shanghai are assured that their vocals and instruments will be showcased to perfection with the Sennheiser and K-array systems.”
“I wanted the best sound possible, but I was dreading cluttering up my beautiful 1930’s venue with a giant sound system. Sennheiser and K-array gave me the quality without the eyesore. Bravo and thank you.” Norman Gosney.
For further information: www.k-array.com