Powersoft drives Tokyo arthouse cinema
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Over the last decade, the number of mini theatres has declined as multiplexes have flourished, but Uplink and its president, Takashi Asai, have remained true to their belief that the future is bright for arthouse mini theatres in Tokyo. The way to ensure this, in their opinion, is to offer a pristine AV experience to their customers.
As a result, Uplink has chosen Powersoft amplifier platforms to drive the bespoke audio systems in its venues in the Kichijo-ji area, one of the city’s most fashionable districts. The audio setup in each of the venue’s five screens is driven by Powersoft Ottocanali amplifier platforms, which power Taguchi Acoustic Lab speaker systems.
“The visual side of cinema is constantly evolving,” opens Asai, “But, quite surprisingly, the audio side seems to have stagnated a little in the last few decades. Obviously, SPL in cinemas has increased and dedicated subwoofers have become commonplace, but I have felt for a while that we, as cinema proprietors, could be doing more.”
Asai began conversations with an old friend - Kazunori Taguchi, director of Taguchi Acoustic Lab - to understand how to take Uplink’s audio systems to the next level.
It didn’t take long for Asai to decide that the flat-panel Taguchi speakers were the ideal fit for the Uplink cinemas, so he was then able to begin shooting out the amplifiers that would be used to power them.
“We tried a number of different manufacturers, but when we used the Powersoft amplifiers, the sound output was overwhelmingly fabulous,” says Asai. “When combined with Taguchi’s speakers, the speed and fine resolution of the sound almost brought tears to my eyes. I felt like we had found the Formula 1 of cinema audio systems.”
Asai concludes: “From everything I learned during my research, I believe that the combination of Powersoft and Taguchi speakers was the best choice for the new venues. We’ve already received a number of positive comments from audience in reference to the quality of the sound. We truly couldn’t be happier with the results.”
(Jim Evans)
