USA - Opened in late 2012, ArcLight Cinemas' newest location in La Jolla, California, offers patrons "the ultimate movie-going experience with ArcLight Wide Screen, a state-of-the-art auditorium concept". The premium theatre features a 50-foot curved screen, 3D-capable 4K projection, and immersive Dolby Atmos audio reproduced through a Meyer Sound system based on the Acheron screen channel loudspeakers.
"At ArcLight we offer a wide variety of programming, ranging from the newest Hollywood blockbusters to art house films and cult favorites," says Joe Miraglia, ArcLight's director of design, construction, and facilities. "To introduce our 'Wide Screen' concept, we selected Meyer Sound to power our Dolby Atmos auditorium to ensure that our guests will experience precise and realistic sound, exactly as the filmmakers intended."
The Dolby Atmos format envelops the audience by using individually addressed loudspeakers for precise reproduction of 'audio objects' in a three-dimensional space. In ArcLight's Wide Screen auditorium, five Meyer Sound Acheron 100 screen channel loudspeakers are placed behind the curved 50' screen, with low-frequency energy supplied by six X-800C cinema subwoofers. A total of 30 HMS-10 cinema surround loudspeakers mounted on the walls and overhead provide precise positional imaging, with dual 500-HP subwoofers supplying bass management for the surround channels. The entire system is governed by a Galileo loudspeaker management system with two Galileo 616 processors.
The auditorium's sound and projection systems were supplied by ACS Enterprises of Walnut, California, with company CEO Jose Alvarado consulting with Meyer Sound on the audio installation.
"As today's motion pictures transition from traditional surround sound to more dynamic object-based reproduction, it is important that auditoriums are equipped to provide an experience available only in theatres," says Alvarado. "Selecting a Meyer Sound system achieves that goal."
ArcLight La Jolla, located in the Westfield UTC shopping mall, incorporates 14 screens with a total seating capacity of 1,800. The La Jolla opening marks the fifth location for ArcLight Cinemas, a division of Pacific Theatres owned and operated by the Decurion Corporation.
