Having relocated to the picturesque Oracle Park in 2000 after several decades at windy Candlestick Park, Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants recently completed an upgrade of its sound system.
The roots of the installation at the 41,331-seat Oracle Park with its San Francisco Bay backdrop date back four years, when Diversified was hired to do a rebalance. In truth, however, both the Giants and Diversified knew a completely new audio system was needed.
Diversified – which maintains a longstanding relationship with the Giants, including installing the control room in 2000 – is renowned for its portfolio of stadium installations, including Climate Pledge Arena (Seattle) and American Family Field (Milwaukee Brewers), both of which are powered by Powersoft. Powersoft, meanwhile, has an equally expansive portfolio, including some of the world’s most high-profile entertainment and sports venues, and was chosen for Oracle Park.
‘As it aged, the system began to have a few problems, and the Giants wanted something brand new that would not only deliver better sound but enhance the fan experience,’ says Diversified Director of Engineering, Justo Gutierrez. ‘We were able to reuse a lot of the existing infrastructure, using the same speaker locations with new products. We modelled it to make sure we picked the right things as far as Powersoft technology goes.’
That technology includes a Powersoft X4, a four-channel amplifier with DSP and Dante, as well as 36 Quattrocanali 4804 DSP+D and 12 Quattrocanali 8804 DSP+D, all of which are AC power-friendly. The X4 and Quattrocanali, which at Oracle Park are paired with a Fulcrum Acoustic loudspeaker system, both feature Powersoft’s SRM (Smart Rails Management) technology, allowing Diversified to maximise the efficiency of the system and drastically reduce power consumption while reducing the need for external cooling devices.
‘It’s got the DSP+D, which means it’s got DSP in the amplifier and the “+D” part means it’s Dante,’ Gutierrez says ‘It works with the QSC control system that’s in the stadium because there are plug-ins that Powersoft has developed that allow us to see the telemetry out of the amplifiers from the user interface on the control side of things. That is an important factor with amplifier selection because it needs to work as part of the overall control of the system.’
Diversified worked with Powersoft to right-size the amplifier choices – especially when it came to subwoofers, since subs aren’t common in baseball stadia.
‘Powersoft amplifiers have robust redundancy. If they lose the digital link to the amplifiers, the analogue takes over,’ Gutierrez says. ‘They reboot quickly if there is a power outage – you turn it back on and within ten seconds, they can start making sound again. That is why Powersoft is being used a lot in stadium applications. Plus, the tech support is very responsive.’
‘The previous system was good, but now we have taken it to the next level, and there is a noticeable increase in the sound quality,’ adds Diversified Senior Design Engineer, Jeff Dykhouse. ‘We have done numerous stadiums and arenas, but this is a top-tier installation in a top-tier location – it’s San Francisco, the Giants, and Major League Baseball. They also installed a new lighting system among the upgrades, and it was exciting to be part of this project.’
‘This upgrade truly elevates the complete ballpark experience for our fans,’ reports Bill Schlough, the team’s chief information officer. ‘Fans may not see it, but they will definitely feel it.’
‘We pride ourselves in designing and building top-notch class-D amplification with a strong focus on efficiency and sustainability,’ says Powersoft Senior Sales Engineer for Large Venues, Rick Woida. ‘The team at Diversified were great to work with and I am happy to have supported them in their design decisions and deployment of this installation.’
