About OSA Stage Arts
OSA Stage Arts provides sound system design, operation and audio production for theatre, musical and live events, ranging from small-scale productions to arena-class performances, primarily across Tokyo and Osaka.
Products Used
TiMax: SoundHub
Martin Audio: CDD12, LE100, ADORN A55, THS, Blackline X8, SX115, iKON iK42
Overview
The annual Youth Charity Concert presented by the Big Friendly Jazz Orchestra of Hyogo Prefectural Takasago High School—whose jazz band famously inspired the film Swing Girls—was held on 13 July 2025 at Jotonba Hall, Takasago City Cultural Center. As in previous years, the concert concluded to a sold-out audience.
For this year’s performance, OSA Stage Arts, led by President Mr. Cho, oversaw the complete sound system centred around the TiMax SoundHub immersive processor. We also spoke with Mr. Asahara of Sound Work Ashley, the event’s operating company, about their impressions of SoundHub as well as the loudspeakers and amplifiers used during the production.
Interview
What led you to use TiMax SoundHub for this event? Could you explain the background and nature of the concert?
Mr. Cho, OSA Stage Arts:
Over the years, this concert has benefited from the support of various manufacturers and distributors who have allowed us to showcase the latest audio technologies while supporting the band’s outstanding performances. Personally, I’ve lost track of the exact timeline, but I’ve been involved intermittently for around fifteen years, while OSA Stage Arts has supported the event for four years.
Each year, together with Mr. Asahara of Sound Work Ashley, we choose a theme and try something new. Last year we experimented with another manufacturer’s immersive audio processor, and the audience response was overwhelmingly positive—it quickly became an indispensable part of the concert.
This year, with the cooperation of Audiobrains, we decided to use TiMax SoundHub.
Among immersive audio processors, TiMax takes a particularly unique approach to processing. Even with the relatively simple object positioning used for this production, it simultaneously adjusts both level and delay as sounds move from one position to another, creating exceptionally smooth localisation.
Another key feature is that it supports one of the few positioning systems currently available in Japan capable of tracking performers via sensors. Although this year’s setup was relatively simple, SoundHub is also capable of more advanced hybrid configurations—for example, combining conventional loudspeaker arrays overhead with wavefront synthesis for lip-fill speakers.
What were your impressions after using TiMax SoundHub?
Mr. Cho, OSA Stage Arts:
I believe TiMax SoundHub is an extremely attractive system.
It supports both analogue and digital connectivity depending on the application, while the Dante version we used integrates seamlessly with today’s Dante-enabled mixing consoles.
Programming the system has a slight learning curve, but thanks to the engineers at Audiobrains, the finished interface was extremely intuitive and easy to work with. I found it completely stress-free during operation.
Another major advantage is that SoundHub is not tied to specific loudspeaker models. This gives enormous freedom when designing systems—both in terms of loudspeaker placement and model selection. In Japanese venues, where speaker positions are often fixed or existing wall-mounted loudspeakers must be retained, this flexibility is especially valuable.
There is no doubt that immersive audio will become an essential technology not only for live events but for the professional audio industry as a whole.
TiMax SoundHub
Within SoundHub, each instrument captured by individual microphones was represented intuitively as a coloured object in the user interface.
SoundHub continuously calculates the appropriate level and delay for every loudspeaker in real time, creating an immersive sound field that gives listeners the convincing impression that each sound is emanating directly from the performers themselves.
Loudspeakers and Power Amplifiers
The loudspeaker system deployed for the event exclusively featured Martin Audio products. The main audience system comprised a total of five flown loudspeakers—two CDD12 and three LE100 units—along with two SX115 subwoofers in a center-sub configuration, delivering complete coverage across the entire seating area. All of these components were powered by Martin Audio iKON iK42 amplifiers. Additionally, nine ADORN A55 loudspeakers were utilized for lip-fill coverage.
Each speaker received an independent, immersively processed audio signal from a TiMax SoundHub, operating across a total of 15 individual speaker channels.
Why did you select the LE100, A55 and SX115 for this immersive system?
Mr. Cho, OSA Stage Arts:
Regardless of manufacturer, I believe immersive audio loudspeakers for live events benefit from having relatively wide dispersion.
In most halls, wide coverage is beneficial towards the rear of the audience, while slightly narrower coverage is acceptable nearer the stage.
Martin Audio’s CDD horn, with its asymmetric coverage pattern, solves this challenge extremely well.
To maintain consistent horn characteristics and driver voicing, we flew five loudspeakers above the stage using a combination of CDD12 and LE100.
Ideally, all five would have been identical models, but due to inventory limitations we opted for this mixed configuration since both models share the same horn and driver technology.
The A55 is a loudspeaker we have recently added to our inventory in several units.
Its appearance, compact size and price-to-performance ratio make it an outstanding product.
I first encountered the speaker during a meeting with one of Audiobrains’ former sales representatives. It happened to be sitting beside me as a demonstration speaker, and I was immediately impressed by how good it sounded.
We originally purchased it as background music and evaluation speakers for our warehouse. Although that particular project never materialised, I always liked its sound quality.
Initially, opportunities to use such a compact speaker in live events were limited, so I hesitated to invest further. More recently, however, we replaced around ten compact speakers from another manufacturer with A55s and used them as front fills for a theatrical production. The results were excellent.
They have now become our standard front-fill speaker for productions that don’t require extremely high output.
Occasionally I would like a little more power handling, so I’m also interested in the next model up in the range.
On stage, all monitor loudspeakers were also Martin Audio products.
- 2 × LE100 for soloists
- 1 × Blackline X8 each for piano and drums
- 2 × THS for the brass section
Why were these monitor speakers chosen?
Mr. Cho, OSA Stage Arts:
At OSA Stage Arts, we currently use Martin Audio monitor loudspeakers for most of our productions.
Because we rarely work with extremely high-powered rock band environments, passive full-range loudspeakers that don’t require proprietary amplification are very practical for us.
Ideally I would have liked to use an LE100 for the drum monitor as well, but because many LE100s were already flown overhead, we had to use the X8 instead. Even so, it provided more than enough output.
The THS used for the brass section may seem slightly oversized, but I believe it is perfectly capable of handling stages up to around 18 metres wide.
In fact, we recently used THS as arena side-fill loudspeakers, and they delivered more than enough power.
Comments from Sound Work Ashley
What are your impressions of using this system? What do you see as the future and challenges of immersive audio in live sound?
Mr. Asahara, Sound Work Ashley:
I’ve worked with the Takasago High School Jazz Band for more than twenty years, dating back to when the Japan Association of Professional Sound Engineers first supported the charity concert.
Throughout that time, various manufacturers have supplied the latest mixers, loudspeakers and other equipment, allowing us to continually explore new technologies.
Last year, following a proposal from Mr. Cho of OSA Stage Arts, we introduced an immersive audio system, and I’ve been responsible for operating it ever since.
Traditionally, a big band performance relies mainly on natural acoustic sound, with reinforcement simply providing support.
With immersive audio, however, we can position the amplified sound to match the physical location of each performer. This makes balancing the system against the acoustic sound much easier and greatly simplifies operation.
From the audience’s perspective, each instrument is reproduced from its actual position on stage, allowing listeners in every seat to experience an ensemble that feels much closer to the natural performance. Audience reactions have been overwhelmingly positive.
We hope to continue supporting future Takasago High School Jazz Band charity concerts with immersive audio whenever possible.
To do that successfully, however, it is important that the band’s teachers and students—particularly the band leaders, concertmaster and section leaders—fully understand how immersive audio differs from conventional sound reinforcement.
I believe this is true for any production: performers should understand the system they’re working with.
I also feel strongly that this concert succeeded because of the support provided by Audiobrains and Mr. Cho of OSA Stage Arts.
Speaking personally, trying to manage both system engineering and front-of-house operation simultaneously inevitably means one of those responsibilities receives less attention, making it difficult to concentrate fully on the performance.
Many engineers successfully perform both roles, of course, but personally I prefer to separate system engineering from mixing duties whenever possible.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone involved for their support, especially the members of the Takasago High School Jazz Band.
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