Madrid’s has WiZink Center completed a comprehensive two-year audio systems upgrade from Spanish distributor and A/V specialist Ascon Light & Sound Systems and system integrator Assembly AV. The project enables the multipurpose facility’s technical capabilities to support events spanning world-class concerts, sports matches and smaller corporate events and congresses with premium audio quality in every area.
The WiZink Center was conceived in the early 1950s before opening to the public in 1960. While a rebuilding project in the early 2000s ensured that the capacity of the main arena could be expanded, it took the current management company, Impulsa Eventos e Instalaciones to turn it into a true multi-purpose venue in 2014.
The management subsequently asked Ascon and Assembly AV for an audio systems refresh in 2018. Over the following two years, dedicated solutions were devised for six areas including VIP lounges, pressroom, meeting rooms and main arena.
‘The areas are very different and each one has its own complexity,’ says Daniel Nieto, from Impulsa AV who designed the installation. ‘I needed a company capable of offering a turnkey solution by an established brand.’
While the challenges in each space were different, the ideal sound system solutions were consistently sourced from the extensive Electro-Voice and Dynacord product portfolios. The most challenging audio tasks were in the main arena itself, with asymmetrical grandstands, working around planned LED screen upgrades, and the inability to hang loudspeakers from the ceiling.
A two-phase approach to the installation was taken, with the initial stage seeing horizontal arrays of Electro-Voice EVH-1152D horn-loaded loudspeaker systems powered by Dynacord IPX5:4 amplifiers installed to cover the first tier. Once the LED panels had been replaced, the second phase placed 18 EVH-1152D speakers around the video scoreboard to cover the remaining area. Ten EVF-1152D units cover areas of the third level with the aim of increasing intelligibility. Further IPX 5:4 amplifiers provide a redundant OCA network through two fibre-optic rings.
Other areas of the building, such as the MegaBarra meeting spaces, are equipped with Dynacord C series amplifiers powering Electro-Voice Evid loudspeakers, while Evolve 50 column systems offer a versatile portable solution for the venue. Meanwhile, the acoustically complex pressroom is now tamed with six Electro-Voice EVU-1062 ultracompact speakers, with a Dynacord CMS 1000-3 mixing console and Electro-Voice PolarChoice Desktop 18-inch microphones completing the solution.
‘The combination of Electro-Voice loudspeakers with Dynacord electronics turned out to be the best solution, with optimum results in all of the spaces,’ says Ascon Light & Sound Systems Procurement and Logistics Manager, Vanessa Garos. ‘This extensive two-year project has ensured that the WiZink Center will be able to continue delivering the premium events its audiences expect with pristine audio quality throughout the venue.’
