TruCru Deploys TiMax PanLab

Redruth-based TruCru has expanded its long-running audio remit at Cornwall's Eden Project Christmas Light Experience by introducing TiMax panLab to create a spatial soundscape.

Having supplied a cinematic stereo soundtrack on Martin Audio loudspeakers in the Rainforest Biome for four consecutive seasons, the team this year focused on the Citrus Grove in the Mediterranean Biome, the show's centrepiece, adding an immersive layer to complement the illuminated installation.

The shift was inspired after TruCru, a Martin Audio rental partner, attended the Focusrite Group’s Audio Reproduction Open Days. TruCru project manager Toby Bodman said: "I'd always imagined a spatial element for the Citrus show, but the cost and scale of traditional immersive processors made it unachievable. Hearing TiMax panLab in action changed everything. Suddenly, an immersive system was not only creatively compelling but entirely viable within Eden's budget."

Bodman added: "It's made immersive sound achievable where budgets simply didn’t allow it before."

Working with the TiMax team, TruCru reconfigured its rental inventory for spatial delivery. The design combined multiple layers of Martin Audio FlexPoint loudspeakers, with FP12s flown for height, additional FP12s positioned wide left and right concealed in planting, and further units placed around the audience. Where biome load limits allowed, FP8 ceiling points were added to provide vertical energy and a greater sense of scale across the space.

"The presence and width from just two overhead points was impressive. TiMax panLab helped us maximise the effectiveness of every position. The elevation layers gave us a genuinely spacious, enveloping image," said Bodman.

As this was TruCru's first spatial deployment at the venue, simplicity was critical. "TiMax told us it could be programmed in minutes, and I can honestly say that's true," Bodman confirmed. "TiMax panLab's interface is incredibly intuitive. It just made sense. Dropping sources into position was simple, and the whole deployment was far easier than we expected."

For this year's show, TruCru opted to run pre-mixed 7.1.4 stems provided by the content creator to streamline delivery. Looking ahead, the team plans to introduce more automation and movement directly from TiMax panLab. With the Eden Project already interested in returning to the format next year, spatial audio is set to remain a key creative tool in future programmes, with TiMax panLab central to elevating the audience experience without adding complexity.

martin-audio.com