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Wharfedale Pro powers Dongting Lake Museum’s “5D Theatre” in China

The Dongting Lake Museum in Yueyang City, China, has installed a full-scale sound system across all exhibition areas, including its immersive underground “5D Theatre”. Designed by Wharfedale Pro’s consultant Marko Jovanovic and installed by Minghe Group, the system delivers immersive-ready audio that complements the theatre’s array of visual mapping, water effects, moving machinery and lighting.

Covering 50,864 sqm, the Dongting Lake Museum in Yueyang City, Hunan Province, showcases the history and biodiversity of Dongting Lake. At the heart of the museum’s underground level is the “5D Theatre”, which spans 900 sqm and accommodates approximately 200 guests. This space enhances visitor engagement by integrating motion, visual effects, and interactive environmental elements.

Changsha-based Minghe Group collaborated closely with Wharfedale Pro to handle the challenging sound system design, installation, and optimisation throughout the entire museum. The following system was deployed: twelve WLA-115 Hybrid Curvature Array Elements, eight XLA-118Sub subwoofers (two clusters of four suspended above the theatre), eighteen WLA-210XP Line Array Elements, and six WLA-210XSub Dual 15’’ subs, dedicated to the six “moving rooms”. Amplification for this system is provided by Wharfedale Pro DP-4100N and DP-2200N Dante-enabled amplifiers.

The sound system design team overcame several constraints: Although the ceiling was over ten metres high, limitations were imposed by the need to maintain clear sight lines for the audience, restricting the length of the loudspeaker arrays. With the stage fully submerged in water during certain parts of the show and dry during others, all main and monitor loudspeakers had to be flown to prevent obstruction and damage.

Rigging space was at a premium amid numerous lights, projectors and moving props, each mount was carefully negotiated and acoustically assessed. Additionally, the theatre’s L-shaped audience area required custom FOH loudspeaker configuration to ensure even coverage.

Although the current soundtrack is stereo, the system is future-proof for multitrack immersive audio, ensuring scalability for the venue’s evolving needs. The rigging grid offered limited optimal speaker positions; however, through alignment and acoustic tuning, the team achieved balanced coverage across the corner and side-facing audience sections.

(Photos: Dongting Lake Museum/Wharfedale Pro)

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