Mumbai’s Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir Sounds off a Subliminal Audio Experience With an All RD Signature System
The iconic Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir and Sheila Raheja Auditorium in its new avatar, boasts a 740-seater auditorium, with two special boxes on either side of the balcony, designed by a Singapore-based architect. The performance venue par excellence has upper floors with designated rooms to practise the tabla, the flute, Bharatanatyam and Kathakali, among others; in addition to the auditorium itself being integrated with world class technology to capably reinforce any kind of performance under the sun – musical, theatrical and dance.
“We have fitted this auditorium with the latest lighting and sound equipment. A closed auditorium is a better fit for this city, and in this way, there is better acoustics and neighbours do not complain of the noise, unlike with an open-air theatre,” says architect Mahinder Chande, chief executive officer of K Raheja and in-charge of this redevelopment.
The legendary auditorium features a world-class professional audio architecture designed and integrated by industry stalwart Roger Drego, using top-notch products from his signature RD series. The FOH system comprises a total of 20 units of the powerful RD208LA line array elements integrated and aligned in an L-C-R format of 8-4-8 arrays. The RD208LA assures pristine audio playback throughout front-of-stage; ably reinforced by RD218W subwoofers delivering the impactful low frequency fidelity. Complementing the FOH system are a whopping 28 units of RD12 loudspeakers and 4 units of RD10 loudspeakers, each of which have been methodically placed along the flanks and niches of the auditorium to make sure that every last seat in the space experiences consistent world-class quality sound. The audio playback for performers on-stage is guaranteed equal importance, with 8 units of the RD212M floor monitors acting as the source of pure listening pleasure. The entire loudspeaker setup is powered through a slew of high-quality power amplifiers including multiple units of the RD4.14, RD4.08 and RD2.22 power amplifiers; with multiple units of the dBMark XCA48 and Marani DPA440 loudspeaker management systems shouldering the responsibility of a smooth signal chain processing.
The venue management share their comment about the avant-garde audio system saying, “As a venue, we’re able to host any kind of performance event – and the fact that we have an absolutely efficient and dexterous audio system plays a huge role in this. The RD system sounds absolutely fantastic and we must commend Roger and his team on a great job done!”