Opened in first quarter 2016, the Vue cinema in the Dutch city of Alkmaar has been
voted the best new-built cinema in Europe by the International Cinema Technology
Association (ICTA). The quality of its three Alcons Audio-based Dolby Atmos
systems has played an important role in the accolade.

Taken over by Vue Nederland in August 2015, the Dutch JT Bioscopen cinema chain
was one of the first global adopters of Dolby Atmos immersive surround sound and
already had several existing Alcons-equipped cinemas. Vue Nederland worked with
cinema services specialists CinemaNext on the new installation, who have worked
on projects with Alcons since the introduction of the company’s C-series cinema
systems. CinemaNext’s first Atmos installation using Alcons products was completed
in early 2013.

“Alcons products are very well suited to Atmos installations,’ says CinemaNext
regional manager Matthew Jones. “A key requirement of Atmos is that, when sound
is panned, there must not be any perceivable difference in its volume or quality. It
needs the loudspeakers used in the 3D array to have very similar output and
dynamic range to those used for the front channels.’

Three of the seven screens at Vue Alkmaar feature Atmos and all are full Alcons
installations. In terms of size, Screen 10 is the largest with 420 seats, with Screen
1 (223 seats) and Screen 8 (148 seats) being smaller rooms.

In Screen 10, the Atmos system features five Alcons CR4 large format, tri-amped
loudspeakers with twin 15′, four 6.5′ drivers and three RBN401 pro-ribbon, four
CB211SL single 21′ and four CB181SL single 18′ shallow subwoofers for the main
front channels.

Two CB362 twin 18′ units are used for the rear subs, with the surround elements
comprise 22 CRS12 12′ + RBN401 pro-ribbon, eight CRS12GT 12′ + RBN601 pro-
ribbon and CCS8 8′ coaxial units. The system is powered and controlled by 14
Sentinel3 and two Sentinel10 4-channel amplified loudspeaker controllers.

The Screen 1 system comprises four CR4, four CB211SL, two CB362, 26 CRS12, four
CR12GT and eight CCS8, powered by 15 Sentinel3 and a Sentinel10. The Screen 8
system utilises three medium-format CR3 with twin 15′, twin 6.5′ drivers and twin
RBN401 pro-ribbon, five CB362 subs, 28 CRS12 and six CCS8, driven by 12 Sentinel
3 and a Sentinel10.

The key features of Alcons pro-ribbon drivers which make them so suitable for
Atmos installations is their exceptionally low distortion, only a tenth of the THD of
compression or dome drivers. A pro-ribbon driver does not have a compression
threshold, meaning that it maintains the same tonal balance at all sound pressure
levels. When these advantages are combined with the design benefits of Alcons
cinema systems – which include advanced integration between amplifier and
loudspeakers (actively compensating for the effect of long speaker cables),
exceptional patented coverage control, slim designs and performance reliability –
it’s clear that the high audio quality needed for Atmos can be more than satisfied by
an Alcons system.

More info on www.alcons.audio, www.vuecinemas.nl and www.cinemanext.digital