Shantou University was established in 1981 as a pilot college funded by the Chinese Ministry of Education, Guangdong Province and the private Li Ka Shing Foundation. One of the highlights of this school is its 52,000-square meter sports stadium complex, known as the Shantou University Sports Park.
This year, the stadium played host to the university’s 2018 graduation commencement emboldened by the retirement farewell ceremony for Li Ka Shing – complete with Clair Brothers C12 and C8 loudspeakers.
The university decided to invest in a large-scale mobile performance system that could be set up for specific shows, in the recent case, their commencement ceremony. After several close inspection reviews of top brands that would be deemed best for the job, DMT, the Clair Brothers distributor in China presented the powers that be with a demo of components.
“It was obvious,” explains Chris Fish, technical director at DMT, “from the smiles and the feedback that the Clair Brothers gear was making a real impression compared to the other systems.”
The final equipment list at the venue is something to behold for a mobile system; it consists of a thirty-two Clair Brothers C12 full-frequency line arrays, sixteen C8 full-frequency line arrays, sixteen iS218 low-frequency line arrays and eight Clair Brothers 1AM stage monitors, accompanied by SSL L500 and L300 consoles, Clair Brothers/Lab.gruppen PLM amplifiers, Sennheiser wireless systems and DPA microphones.
In order to meet the requirements of various stage settings in the sports park, the C12s can be used in numerous combinations including modes such as left and right expansion of the mains, plus side fill, or left and right expansion of the mains, plus delay tower. It all depends on what is needed that day. Additionally, the C8s can be used as an independent system combined with the lows of the iS218s when less than half of the audience field is necessary for a performance.
In effect, the entire Clair Brothers system is flexible enough to handle just about any type or size production. Additionally, following comments from a number of VIPs in previous years, a pair of 8CX coaxial speakers were installed in each of the eight VIP rooms around the auditorium ensuring that the best and most consistent sound is heard at all times in all areas of the venue.
“In addition to the unbelievable sound they experienced during our demo,” continues Fish, “the University decision makers were excited by the Clair Brothers history, how founders Roy and Gene Clair worked with icons like Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson, and today how the American company has grown itself into a powerful global influence in the pro sound industry. With the school’s high standards, it’s important to them to work with, and be associated with, the best in the world. That’s what Clair Brothers represents.”
