The recent ADAC Supercross meet attracted die-hard motocross fans from across Europe to see a Who’s Who of the sport compete in Germany’s Westfalenhallen exhibition centre in Dortmund – the venue of choice for major German and international events.
The venue’s interior space, as well as the direction of the action, meant that centrally positioned LED screens were essential – huge screens hung in the centre of the venue to bring the action closer to more than 9,000 spectators each day. Music clips, advertisements, statements, progress reports, greetings and awards ceremonies were recorded and delivered to every seat in the hall, and every spectator around the perimeter of the venue could see at least one unobstructed screen.
Providing sound reinforcement posed a unique set of challenges: uniform 360° sound coverage was tricky, on account of the distance between the spectators varied between 20m and 45m. Additional factors included the roar of motorbikes speeding past fans and the resulting noise of the crowd.
In the preliminary planning meetings for this project, it became clear to Lars Schnier, DAS Audio’s System Designer in Germany, that: ‘It’s a jungle out there. The only way to win this fight is with every weapon in your arsenal at the ready.’
He quickly decided on the company’s large format Aero 50 line array system to cover the venue’s long-throw requirements. The Aero 50, a passive, three-way full-range loudspeaker system incorporating dual 15-inch LF transducers, provided the sonic muscle for an event of this scope. Each line array cluster used six speaker elements in order to cover the longer distances of the oval.
The longer diameter of the venue was fitted on one side with Aero 12A compact powered line array enclosures, and on the other with an Aero 28A system to test and compare the two options. The under-balcony sound system consisted of 24 Variant 25A powered, mid-high line array elements – rigged under the galleries in order to minimize shadows in the rows furthest back.
Sixteen Lab.gruppen fP10000Q power amps were used with four Lake LM26 controllers to provide the necessary amplification and processing for the Aero 50s, as well as signal distribution to the Aero 12A and Aero 28A enclosures. This equipment was installed within the ceiling space using the accessible rigging in the hall. All system controllers for the Aero 50 loudspeakers, along with the DAS DSP-4080 signal processors for the Aero 12A and Aero 28A enclosures, were controlled by a wireless remote. At the end of the installation, Schnier and system assistant Lucas Gripshöfer had 24 audio zones to measure, level and bring into phase with each other.
The Aero 12A proved to be a good choice for the occasion. The two clusters of eight Aero 12As were positioned to provide coverage over an angle of roughly 28°. The system, as tuned and positioned by Schnier, provided consistent coverage for the entire horizontal and vertical area as far as the adjacent Aero 50 units. Checks on all the different levels during the breaks showed both systems to be complementing one another nicely – providing dropout free audio coverage throughout all areas of the venue.
The results of the measurements, loudspeaker placement and fine-tuning resulted in uninterrupted views of all of the LED screens and a full-range sound system that provided the high level of speech intelligibility and even coverage throughout the venue that the various event managers, technicians and VIP guests had hoped for.
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