Distributor Asian Pro Music (APM) has upgraded the Palace of the Republic – a 3,000-seat concert hall built in the 1970’s – situated in Almaty, Kazakhstan, incorporating Harman’s AKG CS 5 Digital Conference System into the setup. The auditorium, which is mainly used to host various film festivals, awards, conventions and large annual meetings, was previously situated under a tented roof, with no balcony tiers. With renovation work to restructure the venue already in place, APM, which is on the government tender list (required under Kazakhstani law), won a competitive bid for the contract to fully equip The Palace with AV technology. The requirement was for synchronised translation for 3,000 people spanning seven languages, with a conference system that would serve 20 people. In addition it needed to be sufficiently versatile for use during festivals, movie screenings and musicals. As the official distributor of Harman Professional brands, APM had earmarked the modular, expandable AKG CS 5 conferencing system. The system for use by up to 20 delegates, comprises CS 5 BU base units with CS 5 BOB breakout box, which provide an additional 16 analogue channel output. A further CS 5 VU voting units were installed, along with CS 5 DU delegate units, CS 5 IU interpreter units, GN 30 CS and GN 50 CS (30cm and 50cm) goosenecks, plus various infrared transmitters/receivers and headphones. The Harman brand-centric installation also included the integration of JBL cinema loudspeakers (including 4732 three-way screen array, 4642A subs and 8350 surrounds), Crown CTs 2000 amplification (with IQ3USP3CN PIP module), dbx and BSS processing and Soundcraft MH3 and Vi6 digital mixing consoles. When the Mayor of Almaty spoke through the CS5 during the City’s annual report presentation earlier this year, the AKG conference system was said to ahve passed its evaluation test with flying colors. APM CEO, Maxim Vostrov stated: “We decided that AKG Acoustics would provide the best high-end conference and synchronized translation system. This was proved justified, as once the installation was complete, the high quality and simplicity of operation were immediately noted. Correct placement of the infrared emitters allowed us to obtain crystal clear sound on all eight channels of synchronized translation.” In addition to the design and provision of the AV systems, APM were also responsible for the stage mechanics, architectural acoustic optimization and large LED screens. www.harman.com
