The Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (JACCC) has overhauled its sound system with the Renkus-Heinz IC2 steered array systems for front of house and RH-Series systems for stage monitors.
Located in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo quarter, the JACCC first opened in 1980 and has become one of the largest ethnic art and cultural centres in the US.
The JACCC’s facilities include the 880-seat Aratani Theatre, which stages a range of performances from music to dance and drama. Unhappy with the existing system JACCC representatives asked audio consultant Gerald Ishibashi to recommend a solution.
“The Aratani is a nicely designed room, but their existing system was not a full range solution,” explained Ishibashi. “They’ve had continual issues with poor intelligibility and inconsistent coverage in some areas. I’ve used Renkus-Heinz products for years, and their beam steering technology is just the best there is. When the new IC2 systems were introduced, I felt it would be a great solution for the sound issues in the hall.”
For the front of house system, Ishibashi recommended a pair of IC2-FR Digitally Steerable arrays on either side of the stage. “We brought the IC2 cabinets into the room and, because the arrays are steerable, we were able to ground stack them instead of flying the arrays, which eliminated line of sight issues. Ralph Heinz came in and commissioned the system, and it sounded great. The clarity and articulation was just amazing, and it was consistent to every seat in the house.”
For stage monitors, Ishibashi suggested six 12in RH123 three-way loudspeakers and a pair of 15in RH153 three-way loudspeakers.
“The first test of the system was a live performance by The Association,” said Ishibashi. “Being a vocal group, I knew this concert would be a good test of both the house and monitor systems. After the show, the band members were ecstatic about the sound, both on stage and in the theatre.”
A subsequent show with Jackson Browne confirmed his decision. “Jackson’s engineer has exceptionally high standards, and I could see he was initially a bit sceptical of the system,” added Ishibashi. “After the show, he made it a point to tell me how happy he was with the sound.”
