Procella Plans 21.4.10-Channel (!) Audio Demo

Procella Audio, the Swedish maker of high-end theater speakers systems, is going all out at the upcoming Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) show in Amsterdam.

In a pre-show teaser, the company announced plans to demonstrate a crazy 21.4.10-channel immersive audio system in partnership with Trinnov Audio. The photo shows (from bottom left) overhead, side, and front views of the speaker setup.

“When Trinnov announced the Altitude48ext [processor], that gave us more channels to play with,” Procella said in the communiqué. “So we redesigned our sound room to take advantage of a higher channel count to produce a truly immersive and cinematic audio experience.”

To give you an idea of just how over-the-top the system is, the setup will tap Dolby Atmos processing for five front channels: the standard left/center/right (L/C/R) plus left center and right center channels. As you can see in the top right illustration, the front wall of the system has five Procella THX-certified P8 speakers situated behind a 13 x 5.7-foot screen, three Procella P5 height speakers above, and a massive V18 subwoofer below.

The V18 is dedicated to the front channels and joined by an even more monstrous V21 subwoofer, featuring two compression-loaded 21-inch drivers and powered by a DA5000-DSP amplifier, which supplies a brutal 2,500 watts to each driver. The V21 is reserved for the system’s LFE channel.

And that’s just the front of the room. Oh, and those ridiculous subs are not the system’s only subwoofers.

A second V18 sits in the back left corner of the room (top left illustration) and two P15-FP subs, featuring dual 15-inch drivers and powered by a 2,800-watt DA2800-DSP amplifier, are dedicated to the system’s 26 surround- and height-channel speakers.


Procella speakers, top row left to right: P8, P6V, and P5. Procella subwoofers, bottom row left to right: V18, V21, and P15-FP.

Here’s what the entire Procella (except where noted) sound system looks like on paper:

• Screen channels: Five P8 speakers powered by a DA2800-DSP
• Screen channels Subwoofer: One V18 powered by a DA5000-DSP
• LFE/main subwoofer: One V21 powered by a DA5000-DSP
• Surround/height subwoofer: Two P15s powered by a DA2800-DSP
• Ear-level surrounds: Fourteen P6Vs powered by a Trinnov Amplitude8
• Wide channels: Two P6Vs powered by a Trinnov Amplitude8
• Screen height channels: Three P6V powered by a Trinnov Amplitude8
• Atmos top/middle/rear and Auro-3D top channels: Seven Procella P5s powered by a Trinnov Amplitude8
• Processor: Trinnov Altitude48ext • Source: Kaleidescape movie player/server

If nothing else, the setup is sure to raise a few questions. Like how many channels are too many channels.

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