SSL Duality Pro-Station console and Genelec monitoring in the main 50m2 control room

Featured article from ProAudio Asia

One of the main audio control rooms at the original CCTV building in Beijing has undergone an upgrade. Sue Su reports from 360 Recording Studio

Located in Fuxing Road, Beijing, the Chromatic Television Center was completed in 1986 for China Central Television (CCTV) and was named one of the top 10 buildings in Beijing during the 1980s. In 2018, the China Central Media Group was established in the building, which became the group’s headquarters. Although most of CCTV’s TV channels have now moved to the broadcaster’s iconic HQ on Guanghua Road, some news production is still operating from the older location, together with some of CCTV’s digital channels and the Spring Festival Gala.

When the Chromatic Television Center was built, it was equipped with two recording studios of 480m2 and 360m2, respectively, to handle music recording and mixing for large-scale cultural programmes, music channels and CCTV feature films. As time passed and equipment began to age, together with a requirement to meet the needs of 3D sound production, it was decided to upgrade the 50m2 control room of the 360m2 studio, dubbed 360 Recording Studio.

“When we design a system for large-scale music recording studios, especially when multiple recording studios need to be linked, there are some new requirements to consider,” explains Lu Nannan, head of the music production department at CCTV. “First of all, we must consider where the boundary between digital and analogue should be, because in the music recording field, a lot of attention is still being paid to the use of analogue equipment. Secondly, we must consider how the studios can be networked and, finally, sound production has developed to the stage of 3D audio, which we must embrace.”

L–R: Johnathan Wang from DMT and Lu Nannan from CCTV

The bidding process for the update of 360 Recording Studio was launched at the end of 2018 and was finally awarded to Digital Media Technology (DMT), which has comprehensive experience in recording studio integration as well as a long history of cooperation with CCTV. The project took around six months to complete.

360 Recording Studio comprises the 360m2 live room and a 30m2 control room as well as the 50m2 control room which has been upgraded. Unlike the larger 480m2 studio, which is a relatively warm room with 1.3s at 1kHz reverberation time, 360 Studio’s reverberation time is about 0.3s at 1kHz, making it an acoustically dry room, and therefore more suitable for multitrack recording of non-traditional music. When the studio was built, the first mixing console to be installed was an SSL 4000E. More than 30 years later, the SSL brand was once again chosen, with the studio being installed with the first 48-channel SSL Duality Pro-Station console in China.

Pro-Station is a version of Duality that offers an alternative centre section layout, allowing sound engineers to control a digital audio workstation – in this case an Avid Pro Tools HDX – from a single, centralised position. According to Lu, the SSL sound can be roughly divided by the introduction of the 9000 Series. “After the 9000 Series, the sound became cleaner and Duality belongs to this type,” he says. “The previous models like the 4000 Series will have a certain colourisation and the two styles are very different. You can't say which one is better but, by adding SSL’s Variable Harmonic Drive preamp, Duality can of course provide more sound possibilities. In addition, the SSL is very user-friendly when it comes to working with DAWs. In terms of technical specifications, Duality is also a good analogue console.”

360 Recording Studio's spacious live room

The main monitor speakers in the control room have also been replaced, with a pair of Genelec 1234A smart active studio monitors embedded in the front wall, which has undergone necessary acoustic improvements. A 5.1.4 monitoring system has been installed, comprising an L-C-R system of Genelec 8351B SAMs, four Genelec 8331A SAMs for the top channels and two 8341A SAMs for the rear channels, plus a 7370A SAM subwoofer. A pair of Yamaha NS10s are being used for nearfield monitoring.

“Genelec has a high degree of recognition in the professional audio market in China, and their R&D has been leading the field in recent years,” continues Lu. “Since they launched the coaxial speakers, I think that the sound quality and sound density have improved even more. The GLM speaker manager software makes the tuning of the 3D sound system more convenient, and they combine AoIP technology as well.”

The recording studio is already equipped with various types of classic microphones, and some new models were also purchased for the upgrade, giving it an inventory of different brands, including DPA,Neumann, Schoeps, Telefunken and Brauner, in addition to classic models from Royer, Audix, Sennheiser, AKG, Shure and beyerdynamic. The studio’s auxiliary equipment is also a combination of the old and the new. Some models have been used from the very beginning, including outboard equipment from AMS Neve, Urei, Pultec, Manley, Rupert Neve and Avalon, as well as Lexicon, EMT, Bricasti, TC reverbs and delays and Eventide effects.

In addition to an Avid MTRX interface, some Prism Sound interfaces have been added as part of the upgrade. “The audio characteristics of a recording studio of a certain scale with a fixed console are already formed,” says Lu. “If you want to add a different tone to it, you must make certain choices and tradeoffs. The Avid MTRX interface used with this workstation is characterised by its delicate, transparent and colourless qualities. We have also added a small number of Prism Sound AD/DA interfaces to achieve a completely different style. In addition, the Neve-styled Amek and Focusrite preamps have very different qualities to the SSL. Together with some classic VCA, FET, Class-A, Pultec and tube outboard equipment, this can enrich and colour the sound.”

The original SSL 4000E console, together with a Sony PCM-3348HR digital multitrack recorder and Studer A820 two-track analogue tape machine used in the studio’s early years, have also been integrated into the system. A total of 17 patch panels have been kept to retain the sound and character of older equipment and to provide more options for the engineers.

The control room has an extensive selection of outboard equipment

“After powering up the SSL 4000E console and doing some basic sound tests, we found that its performance was still good after more than 30 years,” adds Johnathan Wang, technical director of DMT. “This made us very excited. After discussions with Mr Lu, we decided to return it to the control room and use it as an insert to the Duality. Even though it would cost more in wiring and labour, we all looked forward to how the combination of the new and old SSL console would enrich the sound characteristics of the room.”

The 30m2 control room on the other side of the studio is also installed with an SSL, this time an AWS 924. The two control rooms and the 480m2 recording studio share Avid Nexis | E2 SSD core network storage, and each of the studios are installed with an Avid MTRX interface equipped with a Dante card, which facilitates networking and signal transmission through the Dante protocol. There are plans to connect to the MCR at the old site in the future. The studio is now able to meet the requirements of contemporary stereo, surround and 3D productions. “This is a high-quality system that meets the demands of today’s music recording,” concludes Lu.

Just as the two CCTV sites in Beijing continue to complement each other, the upgrade of 360 Recording Studio combines the best of analogue and digital worlds.