The Empire Leicester Square London a JBL THX installation!

I thought I’d share this wondrous cinema based at the movie capital of the heart of London’s West End here in the United Kingdom. The Management proudly introduces the Empire Leicester Square screen #1.

Some you may recognize this cinema as one of the finest in the United Kingdom, the Empire Leicester square at London’s West End the movie capital, Empire was previously owned by UCI now under the ODEON banner it’s still the best.

So set back and relax, let the show begin…

Hears the little tramp Charlie Chaplin standing outside the Empire

This is a JBL THX installation!



Hears a closer view of the columns outside the Empire

The grandness of the architecture shows that this is place wait until you see the inside.



The sound is ****ging awesome I Kidd you not, I've been there several times, sick around I'll be posting for quite a while.

This is a night time view of the of the neon lighting outside the Empire.



This image was taken around 1991 at the premiere of Backdraft.

Backdaft was presented in 70mm six-track Dolby Stereo via the Lucasfilm THX sound system.



This image was taken around 1991 at the premiere of Backdraft note star William Baldwin in the background.



How do you like the show so far boys & girls!

View of the front lobby of the Empire.



Grab that ticket and start running towards Empire Screen #1.

The cinema was refurbished in 1989 with a makeover cost around if memory severs me right £5 million pounds,

You can clearly see the money was well spent and put to very good use in the refurbishments.



While waiting to getting seated in the Empire's plush red rocker chairs and be surrounded with the delights of Dolby Stereo Digital dts SDDS and THX, relax with a drink at the bar.



This view shows "The Bodyguard" which was played at the Empire back in 1992 thou the Empire normally shows "Paramount and Universal" films the Empire took it on to show the "The Bodyguard" as the former "Warner West End" cinema was been refurbished herself at a grand cost around £20 million there about.



A different angle hear shows the doors to Empire screen #1 were getting closer now we are!



WOW!!! I told you, this was voted the number cinema event in the world around the late 1980s not sure if she still holds that status, but in my view this is one hell of impressive cinema, the first time I saw a film hear was "Indiana Jones and the last Crusade" 70mm six-track Dolby Stereo SR with Split-Surrounds via the Lucasfilm THX Sound System.

The force of high power sound via some 20 JBL 4675-A 15inc bass mid arranged in the five screen array five horns placed above the bass cabs for the mid high frequencies for Dolby formats 42 and 43 / 70mm six-track, some 8 JBL 4645 these subs go below the most lowest of rumbling of soundtracks.

Note the surrounds JBL 8330 can be seen though not clearly as they blend in very well into the auditoriums design, look carefully.



The dimming of the auditoriums lights gives it a different view, note above the screen the stars these twinkle back a throw, it is said upon the premiere of "Forrest Gump" back in 1994 they where put to startling use as "Alan Silvestri" opening score with that gentleness in the music really gave the film a smashing impact.



This side view of the Empire auditorium, note the plumb plushest red rocker chairs.

It's also said that "James Cameron" raved about the cinemas sound system upon the premiere of "Titanic" 1997 where it played exclusively in dts 70mm THX Sound System, as the best he's ever heard.



Aspect ratio set on the screen to, W/S 1.85:1 though I've only seen one film at the Empire in W/S which was "Alive" Dolby Stereo Digital THX, the rest in Scope 2.35:1 and a handful of Star Trek films like the Star Trek day on Sunday 8th October 1989 all five films presented in 70mm Six-Track Dolby Stereo THX sound, except Star Trek the Motion Picture which was shown in Scope 2.35:1 Dolby Stereo A type.

This view showing a closer look of the red rockers, with the back part and the bottom part all movable for a rocking film show, and you them in this cinema, because when Indiana Jones throws a punch it will knock back into the chair LOL it's that good a film when I saw it there on September 13th 1989 Wednesday, and at £6.00 quid.



Upon my third attendance to the Empire Leicester Square, when I was working as a projectionist for UCI cinemas in Dorset 10 screen multiplex Tower Park, I met, Ilker Sherif' chief projectionists of the Empire back then, his now moved onwards but there's still someone there to run the shows to spectacular event levels.

Ilker' was kind to show me the booth which I must say is the heart of the machine, note the Philips DP 70 dual projectors 35 & 70mm capabilities these projectors won an academy award for technical excellence.

Note the cake plates these can hold up to a three hour feature film, something like "Lawrence of Arabia" would require two cake plates, note the bottom plate this can be rewound onto the middle cake plate or the top one, re-lacing the film back up takes only a few minutes at the most.


Closer view of the Philips DP 70, note the rectifiers placed behind the projectors, these power up the powerful Xenon lamps inside the projectors lamp house, in the old days carbon arc rods where used where the two rods come together and create an electrical charged bright light, much in the same way as arc welding, is done except where showing films.



Closer view of the print on the cake plate, note in the centre there is a mechanism this is called the feeder or the Brain the film is treaded though and past the little rollers and though the finger and then around a set of rollers up down up and around and onto the projector and back to the cake plate, then
lacing the projector up and start.





Holy cow now that's a rack system with some 15 JBL uri 6290 amplifiers or around 30 amplifiers for the JBL sound system placed to the right sides of and taking up three rack two & half rack framing, in the last two rakes placed to the left side, note two frames above JBL 6290 amps, is the Lucasfilm THX 3417 crossover monitor sound system, above that is a dual tape deck and above that a CD deck this is used for none sync music, that you hear coming from the front left and right stereo JBL in the auditorium.

Next to that is the Dolby DA-10 Dolby Digital processor below that is the Dolby CP-200 processor with multiple 27 band 1/3 octave EQ for left centre right split-surrounds left centre and right centre screen channels, and Dolby A type NR this is regarded as a fine Dolby processor within the industry, also in the racking is a Dolby SR type module for Dolby SR type prints found on all 35mm prints to day SR-D as there so called.

With around 15Kw of sound power you can imagine what "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" must have sounded like, as well as Star Trek, totally out of this world I swear.



A different angle showing the awesome mighty powerful, note in this picture placed below the THX 3417 crossover monitor is a dts CD-Rom drive and decoder.



The Empire as a few surprises up it's sleeve with a laser show presented before each running of the show, it's used to fantastic effect which is played along with a high tech fast tempo musical piece, which last for around 60 seconds, though today it's not used well at least the last time I saw it operating was back in 1995, well Id be very surprised to know it back up and running.

As this played some funky Star Trek images played over the screen and around the auditorium walls with U.S.S. Enterprise attacking a Klingon bird of Pray LOL that was exciting, then the lights dimmed the music faded and moderately the music started up and grandly pressing on you body Star Trek 3 was a real kicker.



Closer inspection of the Philips DP 70 projector though there only 35mm film running on the projector via the reels each reel can show 15 to 20 minutes of film, in this mode to projectors would have to be used and change over cues or cigarette burns, that appear in the upper right hand corner oval shaped ones for scope prints and circular ones for W/S widescreen prints same for 70mm prints.

This year the Empire undertook a third refit within the last 17 years. After it’s second refit around the turn of the 20th century with a rather disappointing Martin Audio five-screen loudspeaker array and surrounds while the original JBL of x8 JBL 4645 18” sub bass speakers remained behind the screen. Now was the time to give her back a real punch.



The JBL 4645C Sub Bass cluster is 8 feet and 9” high and 13 feet and 10” wide!!!!!!!





The spec as follows:-

Dolby CP650SD (10 channel AES/EBU Output Studio version)
Dolby CP200/DA20/MPU-1/SA10 retained for 70mm magnetic and backup replay. CP200 Modified with CAT 64B EQ cards removed for lower noise operation.
2x SDDS DFP2000 (One main, one backup)

5x DBX4800 24bit/96Khz Loudspeaker Management Systems with HiQNET Control. Digital Feed from CP650, Analogue Feed from CP200/SDDS.

5x JBL Custom Screen Array each fed by 1x Crown CTs2000 and 1x Crown CTs3000 Amplifiers

16x JBL 4645C Sub Bass fed by 8x Crown CTs 3000 Amplifiers

42x JBL 8340A Surround Loudspeakers individually driven and time-aligned from 6x Crown CTs8200 8-Channel Amplifiers

Total System Power 56kW

The system now carries THX license

Screen size has now been increased to a maximum 18.26x8.14m

http://www.jblpro.com/pub/cinema/8340.pdf

http://www.jblproservice.com/pdf/The...ries/4645C.pdf

The midrange horn and high frequency drivers in this link are the same as seen at the Empire
http://www.jblpro.com/pressroom/Scre...rrayPatent.htm

Not sure about the JBL bass mid cab, looks familiar, just can’t put my tongue on the model number.


Crown amplifiers CTS 2000 for the five-screen array
http://sales.concert-systems.com/sales/CRO-CTS2000.html

Crown CTS 3000 for the five-screen array and sub bass array
http://sales.concert-systems.com/sales/CRO-CTS3000.html

Crown CTS 8200 for the surround array
http://sales.concert-systems.com/sales/CRO-CTS8200.html



dbx 4800
http://www.dbxpro.com/4800/4800.htm

[Otto]

Now, if they had a cinema like that in my town, I might actually be prompted to go. That's sweet, no doubt.

It was shortly after we moved to our current house ('bout a year and a half ago) that a bad experience in the movie theater convinced me to never go back -- decided I'd just set up my own little living room HT instead. Between the two guys that thought they were in a bar, the dumb kid texting and the teen girl actually TALKING ON A CELL PHONE, I decided I didn't need to go back (OK, I've been back once with my wife). But gimme a good movie in that place, and I'm there.

[Sonnie]

I agree Otto... that would be worth visiting for sure. Amazing setup.

Otto, Sonnie

Any film, well I’ve seen a few back when they had the original JBL specification, and that sounded totally out of this world! To actually feel the water being poured onto Henry Jones at the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 70mm six-track Dolby Stereo SR THX! It felt like someone pocking me with a knitting needle, where was that low end coming from? through I could say this it wasn’t the LFE.1 that’s for sure it was somewhere place in the fronts, that just goes to show the fronts play an important role in the reproduction of the soundtrack.

But it’s the THX baffle wall that also helps to extend the frequency response of the five-screen and the sub bass array with limitless acoustic energy.

[Ayreonaut]

How is the five speaker array set up? Is there consumer gear that will do it?

[dirtyharriett]

The custom HT and THX system I am working on installing at this time will represent about 60% of firepower shown in the above photos. I will be running 3 JBL 4632-T arrays (these are the same arrays that Empire is using 5 of) and a 12 18" driver IB sub system. All of this will be powered by 11 QSC amps at around 32kw. It is a massive project that I estimate will take us 6-9 months to complete. We are probably within 2-3 weeks of getting the first of the massive twin IB sub manifolds installed and tweaked. I can hardly wait to fire the beast up!!!

[Sonnie]

Sounds like an interesting project Harriet. Maybe you can start up a new thread about that project and give us a few pics of it all along.

[stevefish69]

I've just booked up to see the one of the UK Preview's of Transformers in this place

I'll give a personal opinion of the sound once i've seen it

[Bob in St. Louis]

WOW, Speechless! That's incredible.