Munich-based Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Germany has chosen an Alcons pro-ribbon cinema sound system for its in-house screening room. It is now using an Alcons CR1 system with subwoofer, surrounds and processing-amplification.
The screening room is used to inspect all German-spoken trailers and German dubbed film versions, mixes and DCP QC of all Disney movie versions. Reliably assessing the quality of film sound requires a high-performing sound system – and new digital cinema technologies put additional demands on cinema sound, and on production companies’ in-house film screenings.
zweiB, a Munich-based provider of digital cinema systems, event technology and media production, has been supporting Disney Germany for many years, having previously installed digital cinema projectors in the screening room, among other projects. The company was also commissioned with the refurbishment of the cinema sound.
Tammo Buhren, CEO of zweiB, commented: “In my opinion, the use of pro-ribbon speaker technology behind the screen is a gigantic thing. I was convinced from the beginning that Alcons would be the ideal solution for this project. At Disney Germany the main focus is to check the quality of the film sound and possibly verify defects therein. The Alcons system with its high-resolution, direct and clearly perceived sound image convinces. “
Installed were three Alcons CR1 speakers each fitted with a 12in woofer, a 6.5in mid-range unit and Alcons’proprietary RBN401 4in pro-ribbon tweeter. This ultra-compact system is said to perform especially well in smaller rooms, with its flat design (just 18cm deep) and exact performance, producing uncompressed sound at the highest sound pressure levels.
The system is complemented with a CB181 18in subwoofer (just27.5cm deep). All systems are driven by Alcons Sentinel3, a new four-channel DSP class D amplified loudspeaker controller.
For surround sound, six Alcons CCS8 (1in driver with 8in woofer in a coaxial configuration) are used. With this configuration the room is also prepared for future installation of Dolby Atmos.
“The benefits of pro-ribbon technology are clearly audible, especially behind the screen, where you need plenty of headroom for a clean sound reproduction, especially at high frequencies,” said Buhren. “Here the strengths of Alcons are hard to miss. For me, Alcons currently offers the best products in the field of cinema sound. “
Carsten Albrecht, who works in sales and technical support at Alcons Germany, added: “We are very proud that we were able to convince Disney Germany of our cinema sound system. With our multiple-patented pro-ribbon speaker technology and 96kHz DSP class D amplifiers, Alcons provides the exceptionally high quality that is required in a reference screening room. In order to assess the sound quality of a film on a professional level, the sound system has to guarantee a very high resolution and an uncompressed, undistorted sound reproduction. Here Alcons delivers spot-on.”
