The PA People expands existing SCG sound system with JBL
Published: ASIA
AUSTRALIA: Sydney-based The PA People ventured to the spiritual home of Cricket recently to augment the main audio system at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Moore Park. The new PA needed to pair seamlessly with the existing system in the Precinct. The team achieved this by deploying a JBL AE Series speaker system in the stands with the background infrastructure networked via fibre optic.
The venue hosts regular Rugby League and Union fixtures throughout the year and is also the home ground of AFL team, the Sydney Swans. The venue’s management recently rebuilt and modernised the MA Noble, Don Bradman and Daily Messenger Stands – taking 12 months to complete – before enlisting the PA People to install the new PA. Combined, the stands host a range of multifunction and hospitality spaces including a micro-brewery, 14 bars, a banquet hall, dining room and corporate entertainment suites. Operationally, the venue boasts new outside broadcast and media facilities as well as multimedia-enhanced training rooms.
‘The uniqueness of the new stand provided some challenges for audio services. The solution for the main external seating areas and also within the five floors of the complex, had to meet functional, acoustic, aesthetic and performance requirements, unique to the building’s design characteristics,’ explained Greg DeAndrade, project manager for the design and construction contractor, Barnwell. ‘With these challenges adding to the need to pair seamlessly with the existing PA system within the Precinct, the PA People worked with us to achieve an excellent outcome, which has seen the 2014 football season completed and now stands ready for a summer of cricket events.’
The new stand’s bowl sound system design comprises eight main JBL AE Series clusters, augmented with delays where required and powered by Crown CTs Series amplifiers. The mix position is located in level seven of the Brewongle stand and houses a BSS Blu DSP unit for system processing. The functionality of the original processor was also expanded, with new control pages added to the PC interface, and additional Blu units added to process audio in the new stand’s FOH and BOH areas.
A fibre optic network was deployed in the new stands, linking back to the Brewongle stand. A total of 95 spaces in the Noble, Bradman and Messenger stands are fully wired into the network. The existing infrastructure was using CobraNet and the PA People connected the new processors and amplifiers into the network. However, a cooper feed was run between the stands as a backup.
‘The new stands are taller,’ explained Josh Jones, project manager at The PA People. ‘So we had to realign our delays across the stadium. The new stands have become the PA’s zero point. The other stands have had their delays time aligned to suit. You can now walk from one stand to another and not notice any anomalies due to the height differences of the speakers in relation to the seats.’
Aesthetics were also a major consideration, and the stand’s roof was designed to incorporate the PA clusters in a series of recesses.
‘We had to co-ordinate with the builder and hang the PA clusters up into their niches. Our aim was to make the speakers look like part of the roof,’ furthered Mr Jones. ‘The roof is built in such a way that you can access the inside via a series of catwalks, so we devised a mounting system for the PA clusters that makes servicing the PA as simple as unplugging the speaker cable connector, loosening off the mounting bracket, and then lowering the cluster using a pair of hoists.’
AMX touchscreen controls were installed into BOH areas, providing the ability to switch audio sources from local to the main PA throughout the function and training areas in addition to volume control. The venue’s dining and banquet rooms provide simple control of playback and volume by in-house staff as well the ability to interface with third-party production equipment brought in for major events.