"On this consultancy I took a different approach: since this was a stadium for people, not engineers, I decided to let a cross-section of normal people liking this particular rugby football code (NLR) to decide what they liked best. We played them music and had a compère read a script. The people then answered a specific set of questions with a point-scoring system between one and ten. Hence the loudness and intelligibility were a subjective measure decided by people, not engineers." He also carried out acoustical measurements on the day for legal reasons.
The d&b audiotechnik system in question consisted entirely of Ci90s driven by d&b D12 amplifiers, the installation being designed by Shane Bailey of National Audio Systems (d&b's Australian distribution partner) with support from Ralf Zuleeg (d&b Applications Support, Germany). The installation was made by Audio Sales & Recording, the sales arm of IJS Logistics, based in Brisbane. A local Townsville based company, Talkin' Audio, will be responsible for the set up and removal of the system on a game-by-game basis.
"The experience and professionalism of IJS Logistics", was another reason De Ceuster cited as influential in the final purchase decision. "Queensland State Government has a set structure for all their tender processes based on a point scoring system. For the appraisal, none of the people listening knew what speaker system was being tested at the time, nor did they care." He added that, as is the way with so many installation projects, the final decision was subject to multiple influences, and commented: "This was a very enjoyable project for me with an amazing result: well beyond my expectations. A thank-you to all involved is in order."
(Lee Baldock)
