Bayern's basketball team re-entered the Bundesliga - Germany's top division - in March 2011, and since then the sport has experienced a renaissance in and around the Bavarian capital. To accommodate the team's ever-growing army of fans, in May 2011 the club decided to stage home basketball matches in the Rudi-Sedlmayer Hall, which, after extensive modernization and rebuilding, was renamed the Audi Dome prior to welcoming its quota of 7,200 spectators to the official opening at the end of September.
To be sure of offering first division quality, too, in terms of sound and safety, the club invested in a combination of sound reinforcement and voice alarm systems from Dynacord and Electro-Voice. The installation was performed by ELA-Technik Wagner, which is based in nearby Alling.
"In terms of intelligibility and music reproduction, the standards imposed on sound reinforcement systems in the Bundesliga are extremely high," says company MD Karl Wagner. "For example, we had to guarantee the venue the ability to evacuate 7,200 spectators swiftly and safely in case of an emergency. Additionally, in spite of the inevitably high ambient noise levels that occur during exciting matches, we had to be sure that announcements and commentary would be clearly intelligible at all times, even at the back of the arena. To add a further challenge, we were on a very tight schedule, with only two months to plan, install, and commission the whole installation."
Through the use of simulations - which later proved accurate in every detail - the team led by Wagner, together with EVI Audio's Technical Support department, were able to ascertain the ideal sound reinforcement solution, which combines components from Dynacord and Electro-Voice and is capable of simultaneously satisfying the demands of both sound quality and safety.
In the event of a power failure, the voice-alarm system is supplied by an emergency generator. The entire installation can be supervised and controlled from a PC running IRIS-Net software that allows the ProSound and voice-alarm equipment to operate as an integral system or independently as the situation requires.
The voice alarm system unites over 200 100-V loudspeakers including ten Cobreflex II folded sectoral horns. The signals come courtesy of a Promatrix DPM 8016 Matrix Manager with six DPA 8412 and two DPA 8150 amplifiers from Dynacord providing the requisite power.
To ensure the Audi Dome's ProSound system was capable of delivering the requisite sound pressure levels without exceeding the ceiling structure's maximum permitted load, ELA-Technik Wagner opted for 20 EVF-1152S loudspeakers from Electro-Voice's EV-Innovation series.
For announcements, the playback of recorded music, and commentary, a Dynacord CMS 1600-3 mixer is provided along with REV wireless microphones, three REV dual receivers, and five REV hand-held transmitters from Electro-Voice.
After much-praised performances in their opening home games, the Bundesliga freshmen are well on the way to a successful first season in the top flight - and the same can be said of the new sound system. "The installation is delivering values identical to those we saw in the simulations, right through the list." reports Wagner. "The level of intelligibility is exceptional, whilst the music reproduction lacks nothing in terms either of transparency or SPL. Needless to say, the customer is more than satisfied."
(Jim Evans)
