With an instruction ‘to completely equip The Palace with high-end A/V technology, from A to Z’, Asian Pro Music has carried out a complete audio/visual upgrade of the Palace of the Republic in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city. At the same time, the technical infrastructure has been improved as part of a complete A/V fit-out – including the installation of an AKG CS 5 Digital Conference System.

With more than 16 years’ experience, Asian Pro Music (APM) is on the Kazakhstan Government tender list, and won the contract.

Built in 1970 – with a 3,000-seat flat auditorium situated under a tented roof, with no balcony tiers – the structure was recently completely renovated. The Palace is mainly used as a large concert hall that can be adapted to host film festivals, awards, conventions and large-scale corporate events. Apart from anything else, it reckosn to be one of the most technologically advanced concert halls in Central Asia.

The conference system requirement was for synchronised translation for 3,000 people spanning seven languages, and conferencing for20 people. In addition, it needed to be suited to festivals, movie screenings and musicals.

As the official distributor of Harman Professional brands, APM had earmarked AKG as far back as February 2011. ‘There was never any doubt about using it for this particular project,’ says APM Sales Coordinator, Kamila Seidemetova. ‘Furthermore, our partner and friend Thomas Giczy of AKG recommended this particular system as being best fit for purpose – largely based on the quality of the audio.’

‘We decided that AKG Acoustics would provide the best high-end conference and synchronised translation system,’ says APM CEO, Maxim Vostrov. ‘This proved justified, as once the installation was complete, the high quality and simplicity of operation were immediately noted. Correct placement of the infrared emitters allowed us to obtain crystal clear sound on all eight channels of synchronised translation.’

The modular, expandable AKG CS 5 will serve small discussions and large, complex conferences equally well. It is built around very few components, yet promises flexibility at a keen price/performance point. The mic stations, designed to be shared by two persons, not only reduce costs significantly, but also occupy less space on conference tables.

The system in Almaty combines the CS 5 BU base unit with CS 5 BOB breakout box, to provide an additional 16 analogue channel output, CS 5 VU voting units, CS 5 DU delegate units, CS 5 IU interpreter units, GN 30 CS and GN 50 CS (300mm and 500mm) goosenecks, plus various infrared transmitters/receivers and headphones.

The AKG specification was the highlight of an installation that used several Harman Professional brands,including JBL cinema loudspeakers (including 4732 three-way screen array, 4642A subs and 8350 surrounds); Crown CTs 2000 amplification (with IQ3USP3CN PIP module); dbx and BSS processing; and Soundcraft MH3 and Vi6 digital mixing consoles.

In addition to the design and provision of the A/V systems, APM was also responsible for the stage mechanics, architectural acoustic treatments and large LED screens.

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More: www.apm.kz