On the shores of Chaohu Lake in China’s Anhui Province, remarkable convergence of tradition and technology is redefining the acrobatic arts. The Anhui Bai Xi Cheng Acrobatic Theatre has completed one of the region’s most technically sophisticated performing arts installations, featuring an L-ISA spatial sound system with integrated Ambiance technology, designed and installed by L-Acoustics Certified Provider Rightway Audio Consultants (RAC).
The 1,320-seat venue showcases the Anhui Acrobatic Troupe, whose six decades of international performances across fifty countries have made them ambassadors of Chinese performing arts. Their new 40,800-square-metre facility matches that legacy with equally forward-thinking infrastructure, certified with a three-star Green Building Evaluation Standard—making it Anhui’s first performing arts venue to achieve this sustainability recognition.
What sets this installation apart isn’t just the technology deployed, but how RAC integrated L-ISA’s object-based spatial audio with Ambiance’s real-time acoustic control to solve the specific challenges of a venue designed around one of China’s most ambitious stage designs.
China’s First Dual-Mode Stage Demands L-ISA Spatial Audio
The theatre’s technical specs read like an engineering challenge: China’s largest single-panel flipping stage transitions between horizontal and vertical orientations in 90 seconds across a 36-metre height differential. Add 36 computer-controlled wire rigging systems, and you have a dual-mode “proscenium and immersive” stage design—the first of its kind in China’s professional theatre facilities.
The question wasn’t whether to use spatial audio, but how to deploy it effectively. “When you’re dealing with acrobatic performances that involve complex aerial maneuvers and dynamic staging, precise sound localization and spatial positioning become critical,” explained Wang Jianghua, System Engineer at RAC. “Traditional stereo sound reinforcement simply can’t match the three-dimensional reality of performers flying through space.”
The system needed to do more than just amplify sound—it needed to place it accurately in space, matching the reality of performers moving through the air above the audience.
Ambiance Enables Real-Time Acoustic Control
Ambiance technology addresses one of performing arts’ most persistent challenges: creating the ideal acoustic environment for vastly different performance types within the same physical space.
Through the strategic deployment of 24 microphones, the system captures spatial acoustic energy throughout the hall. These signals feed into the L-ISA Room Engine in the L-ISA Processor II to enable real-time control over the theatre’s reverberant characteristics. “This allows flexible adjustment of hall reverberation length and sound field characteristics according to performance needs, keeping audiences consistently immersed in varying soundscapes,” said Wang.
What once required expensive architectural modifications or cumbersome mechanical solutions now happens instantly at the touch of a button, transforming the acoustic character from dry and intimate for spoken theatre to lush and reverberant for musical performances.
A15i and KS28 Deliver Precise Coverage Across 180° Seating
The immersive audio configuration features a frontal L-ISA Scene System of five hangs, each containing five A15i Focus and one A15i Wide, with two hangs of four KS28 subwoofers flown centrally in cardioid configuration. Extension hangs of three A15i Focus and one A15i Wide per side provide coverage for the theatre’s wide 180° audience seating layout.
The surround system deploys 34 X8 enclosures and two X12 speakers, while an overhead system adds 13 X12 speakers. Four SB18 subwoofers rigged to the theatre ceiling supplement the surround and overhead systems, creating a fully enveloping acoustic field.
It’s a methodical approach to coverage that prioritizes even distribution across challenging sightlines while maintaining the precision needed for object-based mixing. During complex wire performances, L-ISA can layer and position distinct auditory elements—rope friction, costume movement through air, landing impacts—transforming the trajectories of acrobats’ movements into precise sound movement paths.
Complete L-Acoustics Ecosystem Integration
The installation uses AES67 network audio protocol for signal transmission, with all audio, video, and lighting elements integrated into a unified control system. This level of integration proved essential for performances where music, lighting, and visuals synchronize tightly with performer movements.
BlackTrax real-time tracking technology transmits 6D positional data to the L-ISA system via the network, allowing the system to simulate spatial sound object positions according to real-time performer locations—adding another dimension to the performance experience.
“The spatial audio responds dynamically to live performance conditions,” noted Cui Yangkang, house Sound Engineer at the Anhui Bai Xi Cheng Acrobatic Theatre. “This allows our audio team at Anhui to create immersive auditory experiences at any scale,”
Technology Serving Artistry
The installation drew over 3,000 visitors on the venue’s trial opening day, eager to experience this convergence of traditional artistry and spatial audio technology. The system has since performed reliably across the theatre’s diverse programming, from traditional acrobatic works to contemporary productions requiring extensive sound reinforcement.
“By designing and optimizing a multi-channel system that applies L-ISA and Ambiance together, we’ve achieved a level of control over acoustics and spatial audio that wasn’t previously possible in this type of venue,” concluded Cui. “The system breaks through conventional limitations, giving us precise control where sound and movement work in perfect harmony.”
For the Anhui Acrobatic Troupe, the technology does what the best audio systems should: it gets out of the way, allowing performers and audiences to connect through the art itself. For audiences, the result is unforgettable: performances where they don’t just watch acrobats defy gravity—they hear it happen in three dimensions.
