This November marked the first ever use of L-Acoustics L-ISA Hyperreal Sound in the southern hemisphere when the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, in partnership with CineConcerts and Warner Bros. Consumer Products, performed Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in Concert at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, South Australia.

The L-ISA setup, which was deployed by Australian technical production company Novatech, included 126 input channels and 96 L-ISA objects and used an L-ISA Wide design solution, deploying a total of 84 L-Acoustics Kara cabinets in seven hangs of 12 Kara, each spaced above the performing zone to provide source separation and localisation, two extension speaker groups of 12 Kiva II and two flown subwoofer arrays of four SB28 in an end fire configuration in the centre.

The monitor system comprised ten X15 HiQ cabinets and eight X8. Control was via a DiGiCo SD10 mixing console at front of house and an AVID S6L at monitors, connected via three Optocore optical loops.

Charles Gagnon, who mixed the show, made adjustments to the soundscape using the L-ISA Controller software to address the processor and create the soundscape for static information such as object panning, source width, distance, etc., based on input channels bussed from the SD10.

“I have long been a fan of so-called surround sound and immersive audio,” said Gagnon. “I’ve done numerous recordings and broadcasts in ‘traditional’ 5.0/5.1 surround and have been involved in experimental immersive audio projects going back to the early 2000s. Advances in processing power and algorithms now make object-based systems practical so I am intrigued, but not surprised, about the emergence of these systems in the competitive live sound market.”

Gagnon found the L-ISA Controller software intuitive, with a well-designed GUI that made it easy for him to quickly make broad adjustments to the soundscape: “I was pleased with the result, especially with dialogue clarity and localisation, and overall clarity and coherence of the soundstage,” he added. “It was a great experience and I would most definitely like to use it again.”

“Novatech works closely with us as our technology partner to bring the sounds of the orchestra to audiences both small and large,” said Vince Ciccarello, CEO of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. “We were thrilled and excited to learn of the new L-ISA technology that would more faithfully engage our artists with the audience and are proud to be a part of this collaboration with Novatech and L-Acoustics.”