Alcons cinema sound at Bergen Kino KP1

July 8, 2010

Source: Alcons-Audio

Norway’s Bergen Kino commissioned the installation of an Alcons system at the country’s highest profile cinema.

Built in 1918, originally as a concert hall, Konsertpaléet screen 1 (KP1) is the premier cinema auditorium in Bergen, Norway and attracts cinephiles from across Scandinavia to enjoy its quality surroundings, sound and vision facilities.

Recently it underwent a major refurbishment programme to become a true reference class cinema, with owning company Bergen Kino keen to provide filmgoers with a cinema experience that was in a league of its own.

Alongside contractors providing new seating, lighting and improved interior design, Bergen Kino contracted Unique Cinema Systems to install Alcons’ latest, cutting-edge C series system, designed for superior (digital) cinema sound reproduction.

The system comprises 5 pcs. CR5 front of house pro-ribbon screen systems, designed for auditoriums of 500 seats and upwards, 20 pcs. Cinema Ribbon Monitor System (CRMS) surround speakers and 4 pcs. BF362 double 18” subwoofers.

The first true cinema system that utilises line-source technology throughout, the CR5 provides non-compressed reproduction and extended dynamic range and optimal acoustic coupling efficiency. A triple RBN401 pro-ribbon array HF section allows a cinema-unique flat SPL coverage from front to rear, with very precise projection; while the quad-6.5” MF section features projection control and increased output through acoustical coupling with a minimal depth waveguide. Despite the system’s shallow, 35cm design allowing it to be very economical in its spatial requirements, it makes no compromise on audio quality.

The CRMS surround speakers feature an RBN401 pro-ribbon HF section with an 8” midbass woofer. The system’s 800W peak power handling offers a 1:15 dynamic range. The CRMS surrounds were chosen to obtain the same mid-high frequency response “ear print” as from the front system, offering the same unique sound timbre throughout the auditorium.

“UCS was the first company to offer Alcons loudspeaker products to the Scandinavian cinema industry. The company’s pro-ribbon technology, though more costly, offers much more transparent and crisp sound reproduction than conventional systems,” says Eyvind Ljungquist of UCS.

“The clarity and lack of distortion, which listeners have learned to appreciate and expect from high-end headphones and HiFi systems, have always been missed in cinema audio. The sound system installed at KP1 is a major leap forward in that direction. UCS felt that these speakers would perfectly suit KP1 as a reference-class cinema.

Through the array of pro-ribbon and mid-frequency drivers, the CR5 acts in a line-array-like manner, offering vastly improved coverage control and directivity, which are both very important features in cinemas,” Eyvind continues.

As the first installation of the CR5 system, UCS was confident that the Alcons technology would provide audio quality unsurpassed by any other system designed for large auditoria. In this, they - as well as Bergen Kino and its audiences - have not been disappointed.

The Bergen Kino management understands that customers are becoming increasingly demanding and that what was ‘good enough’ yesterday won’t suffice now and in the future.

Einar Jakobsen, technical manager Bergen Kino: "we are truly very pleased with the Alcons systems; The cinema experience in KP1 is unsurpassed and it is very well recognized by our visitors, proven by the excellent feedback we get".

Following the KP1 project, new Bergen Kino cinemas are developed with Alcons pro-ribbon sound systems.

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