Two years in construction, the UK’s Derby Arena contains a 250m indoor cycle track – only the fifth of its kind to open in the UK – and will host cultural events, exhibitions, product launches and conferences.

The venue has a seated capacity of up to 3,500 and up to 5,000 capacity seated and standing, and is equipped with a d&b audiotechnik T-Series sound system supplied by Orbital Sound. In its capacity as an event venue, it comes under the responsibility of Derby Live, the Council’s entertainment arm, which is responsible for managing all of the venues and outdoor events. Headed by Production and Technical Manager Gareth Chell, Derby Live was responsible for the sound system for the venue.

‘Our aim was to specify a high-quality system that would be able to take large scale events in its stride, as well as providing an excellent back-up for incoming tours, who generally bring in their own PA rig,’ Chell says. ‘With such a prestigious new venue, we wanted to go for a recognised brand that would inspire confidence for visiting engineers, as well as delivering a great sound in the arena space.

‘We’ve been using d&b audiotechnik systems for some time, installed in the old Derby Playhouse and in the Assembly Rooms, which had performed extremely well and reliably over a number of years. For the Derby Arena, we felt that the T-Series would be an ideal fit, giving us great audio delivery out of a lightweight and very compact system. Orbital Sound was awarded the contract, extending our existing relationship with the team who have given us excellent support for more than four years.’

The wide arena space uses the T-Series configured in four hangs of eight cabinets each. Two cover the inner arena, and two for the outer sides, complemented by B4 Subs across the front of the stage. In addition, the system includes a ground-stacked Q-Series system, with two Q-10s and three Q-Subs each side, to provide full coverage.

A key factor in the choice is the d&b system’s reliability: The d&b amplifiers really do look after the speakers for you, ensuring that the system is protected no matter what is thrown at it – particularly relevant when you have a lot of visiting acts,’ Chell says. ‘ArrayCalc is a fantastic tool for setting up the system, and we are really impressed at the sound quality we are getting out of such a comparatively small system. It is easy to rig and move around, which is important for us, and delivers an impressive punch and quality.’

The first major live events for the Derby Arena include the Comedy Festival in the summer and a concert by the BBC Symphony Orchestra.