The first Edition hotel to open in Western China, the Dali Edition sits at the foot of Cangshan Mountain in Yunnan with views across Erhai Lake. The property has 151 guest rooms, suites and private pool villas, four dining venues, a banquet and meeting space, spa, fitness centre, semi-open terraces and outdoor lawns for weddings and private events. K-array was approached to see how closely its loudspeakers could integrate visually with CCD’s interior design without compromising their performance.
Shanghai Jets, K-array’s official distributor in China, provided technical support throughout the project, from component selection after CCD’s architectural and interior schemes were finalised through to on-site tuning. Jason Zhao, Director of Sales & Operations at K-Array China, worked with the consultant to match speaker models, mounting solutions and coverage patterns to each zone’s function and site conditions, coordinating with other trades as the design developed.
As the hotel’s dining rooms, lobby and pool areas use exposed timber and stone, these zones use Tornado KT2 point sources and KT2C ceiling speakers, chosen for their small footprint and even distribution of BGM across large, open floor plans. The ballroom can be partitioned for smaller events, and uses KY102 line arrays paired with recessed KS2P I subwoofers that extend their response to 35Hz, giving the room both speech clarity and the necessary performance for live bands and DJ sets. The terrace lounge and outdoor bar use weatherproof Kgear GF82 I line arrays with GU210 subwoofers, sized to transition between soft daytime and evening events, with external DJ input ports available for parties and cocktail functions. Loudspeaker placement ensures views of the mountain and lake are unobstructed.
BGM is distributed through an audio matrix and zoning processor before reaching dedicated amplifier channels for each zone’s loudspeakers. Each space has independently adjustable volume and playlists, while the ballroom has its own mixing console linked to the matrix for live events.
The main technical challenge was concealing a professional audio system inside an interior of exposed natural materials. The solution had to meet very different acoustic demands from zone to zone, from quiet, uniform background sound in the dining and lobby areas to the higher dynamic range and low-frequency output needed in the ballroom and outdoor bar.
For Zhao, the project underlines how far K-array’s range extends beyond the products the brand is best known for: ‘This project demonstrated K-array’s strength extends far beyond compact, minimalistic hardware,’ he said. ‘K-array and Kgear form a complete hotel audio ecosystem, solving concealed installation while delivering scalable coverage, dynamic range and low-frequency support for background music, banquet PA and outdoor entertainment alike.’
Unlike alternative loudspeaker options, the audio system at the Dali Edition balances visual subtlety, audio fidelity and operational flexibility. Each zone employs tailored audio treatment unified under the resort’s design theme of natural, understated interiors that harmonise with the scenery.