PANSTADIA & ARENA MANAGEMENT WINTER 2013/14
combination. That’s OK, but lose one cabinet through a technical fault and that fl ashlight directivity is lost, thus splashing unwanted low end all over the place. The V-SUB is also passive so, were a single cabinet to fail, there’s no loss of cardioid behaviour from the other SUBs in that particular array.”
ANZ Stadium’s General Manager Simon Davies and Scott Willsallen.
of the event audio operators who were accustomed to using the old system here in previous years. Scott was initially passive, allowing us to form our own opinions and perceptions. He then commented upon them and would explain why that might be so.”
Shoot-out decision
The shootout was won by German manufacturer d&b audiotechnik. “The d&b Vi systems succeeded for a number of signifi cant reasons,” explains Willsallen, “Not just by being the best performer on the day. When we fi rst looked at renewing the system in early 2012 Shane Bailey, Director of National Audio Systems (NAS), one of the original 18 bidders, had suggested these new systems from d&b. From the point of view of stadium requirements the Vi loudspeakers have several compelling features, in particular the fact that they are fully passive. What does that mean to the layman? Given the restrictions of using only pre-existing rigging points and cable infrastructure, we had a limited circuit count of just eight channels at each position around the stadium roof. In simple terms being passive meant we could put in more
116 SHOWCASE SOUND SYSTEMS
The chosen sound system is set to thrill fans from all the sports played in the stadium.
boxes at each position off the same number of channels within the existing cables, that’s a huge advantage. Most of the arrays have to cover 130 degrees in the vertical plane so more cabinets to fi ll that arc are a real benefi t. Secondly the two types of full range loudspeakers, the Vi8 and Vi12, at 80 and 120 degrees horizontal respectively, proved ideally matched to the general seating patterns. Remember, ANZ Stadium was looking for concert quality delivery, and to every seat in the house.
“From a technical perspective, the icing on the cake is the d&b V-SUB. Subwoofers produce the low end sounds that distinguish concert systems from a more traditional stadium PA. But low end energy into a stadium is very diffi cult to manage; such bass sounds can rumble around what is an echoey environment at best, compromising any benefi ts gained from having a powerful PA. But the V-SUB is cardioid; that means it projects sound rather like a fl ashlight beam, in a defi ned direction. Many other brands have achieved this, but typically they do so using multiple cabinets in
Once the decision was made Willsallen defi ned the precise installation; over 400 d&b loudspeaker cabinets were suspended from the ANZ Stadium roof in the fi nal design. “I wrote my Masters on listening measurements in stadia; it’s a complex branch of physics. As much as possible evolving a design of this scale exists on the computer and that saves a lot of money. I called upon the d&b Application Support department to confi rm my calculations; their specialist Stefan Goertz was a great help in that respect. Culturally, Germans by tradition deal in absolutes, something is either correct or it isn’t. So there’s no ambiguity just to please the client. That said, it remains important to compare empirical data derived from the modelling software to what you measure in the venue. Compare and then listen. Having Stefan here from d&b for the commissioning was very useful in that respect, we have the calculated performance, the measured performance, and then we have each other’s subjective listening.”
The new system was installed by The PA People in June 2013 and was commissioned on schedule for the opening game of the States of Origin series, a uniquely Australian competition of man and muscle. “A week later we revealed the new system to all the various offi cials of the fi ve sporting codes that play at ANZ Stadium,” recounts Davies. “We stage some 50 or so sporting events a year, at least six are full houses, and another third draws about a 35 percent capacity, so they were all very interested. The ability to impart even more emotion to the game was an obvious benefi t to them.
“In some ways we were surprised by how wholeheartedly the various authorities embraced the idea, but you only have to look at something like the Indian Premier League cricket competition to see where that game is headed. The thing with all sports is that people come because they want to have fun; by communicating directly through the high quality sound system that Scott has produced for us we have a way of enhancing the fun and drama. That’s the ANZ Stadium vision and we believe this is the future for sport.”
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