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Martin Audio MLA Mini arrays and MSX subs flying in the new Youth Arts Centre at the Seoul Foundation for Arts & Culture (SFAC) in South Korea.

Martin Audio Brings Unique Capabilities To Arts & Culture Center In South Korea

Loudspeaker platform’s "Hard Avoid" function helps overcome acoustical challenges while also fostering uniform coverage across the audience area.

The Seoul Foundation for Arts & Culture (SFAC) in South Korea recently commissioned the installation of Martin Audio MLA Mini loudspeaker arrays joined by MSX subwoofers in its new Youth Arts Centre.

Funded by donations, the facility has been designed for young people in the Korean capital to fulfil their artistic potential, and put them in touch with other creative hubs around the world via the internet. Situated in the Chungjeong-ro district of the city, the 1,500-square-meter space itself consists of a cafe, office, multipurpose hall, conference rooms and practice room, along with a complex function space.

To conform to modern standards, a high-performance, versatile sound system was required. As Sama Sound sales manager, Dae Won Cho, already had a good relationship with Wonsuk, the Martin Audio distributors that were awarded the contract. It’s in the 150-seat multi-purpose hall that the MLA Mini was specified for its ability to reinforce all types of live performance (K-Pop), as well as conferences, seminars and exhibitions. The system was designed by Sama Sound’s Seung Hwan Kim.

Sama Sound promoted Martin Audio’s ability to improve line array directional control due to the development of the software control platform first incorporated in the self-powered MLA series and later the passive Wavefront Precision series. The MLA Mini is one of the smallest systems capable of implementing this proprietary technology and its output compares favorably with products that are in a larger class. At the core of the design concept is the assignment of individual amplifier channels and DSPs to each driver in a cellular fashion, creating enhanced directional control capabilities.

The MSX subwoofer is responsible for driving and controlling the MLA Mini. and control of the entire system is governed by the dedicated DX4.0 network system controller. Martin Audio’s proprietary Display 2.3 simulation software allows implementation of the “Hard Avoid” function while also fostering a uniform sound image across the audience area. This was a factor on the project due to the structure and acoustic of the Youth Arts Centre, according to Sama Sound’s project manager Hong Geun Kim, who was in charge of system set-up and final tuning.

“There’s a large back wall in the audience area and the sound reflection from that wall was our biggest concern,” he sexplains. The loudspeaker hangs had to be trimmed sufficiently high to enable the energy to be transmitted directly to the inside of the seating and prevent it from bouncing off the wall surface. “We managed to solve this, and the general acoustic issue, thanks to the Hard Avoid function,” he adds.

Sama Sound was also restricted by the fact that the interior had already been 90 percent completed by the time they arrived on site, presenting them with limited options when rigging the array. To preserve the field of view of the huge LED screen, they had to dispense with a center fill. However, thanks to the horizontal orientation of the MLA Mini, this was never missed. “It was possible to be immersed in direct sound even when walking towards the stage, and become exposed to a well=generated center image,” states Kim Hong Geun.

The Youth Arts Centre had already undergone several art performances even before the official opening, and the Collective Chungjeong-ro Youth Arts Centre channel had already posted various art performances on YouTube.

Martin Audio

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