Harman powers underground park exhibit in New York

The “Imagining the LowLine: A First Glimpse of a Future Underground” installation in New York has taken full advantage of Harman’s range of JBL Loudspeakers and Crown Amplifiers.

The exhibit is designed to replicate a spacious, sunlit park in an underground environment, even recreating the soundscape that people would experience above ground.

To achieve the intended effect, Alban Bassuet, venue and acoustic consultant at Arup designed and installed a 3D sound system comprised of 16 wall-mounted JBL CBT50LA-1 column speakers and eight Control 25AV compact indoor/outdoor speakers throughout the space, all powered by three Crown ComTech DriveCore CT8150 amplifiers.

"We chose the JBL CBT50LA-1 loudspeakers for a number of reasons. The exhibit space, which measures about 200’ long, 60’ wide and 18-foot high ceilings, has a lot of natural reverberation. However, in order to successfully use Ambisonics, the sound from the speakers has to be focused and the speakers have to be accurately aimed. The CBT50LA-1 has a precise coverage pattern, which kept unwanted reverb to a minimum and the sound field seamless,” says Bassuet.

“In addition, the CBT50LA-1’s’ wall-mounting angle bracket proved to be a very useful feature. The bracket enabled us to precisely aim the speakers and get the Ambisonics to work. The system really immerses you in the sonic environment and the mood created by the composer.”

New York creative design company Dash 7 Design helped build the exhibition whilst Arup’s Annie Guthrie composed the multichannel soundscape, incorporating and manipulating sounds including birds, trains and children playing.

The exhibit, which ran from September 15–27, was located at the Essex Street Warehouse on the corner of Essex and Broome streets in Manhattan.