Electro-Voice's partner in the region, Prosound won the commission to install the sound systems. A mammoth task: - four of the stadiums were new constructions and the other six had to be renovated, extended or partly rebuilt in order to meet the stringent demands of an event of this calibre.
In the case of the sound reinforcement, each stadium was the subject of a separate invitation to tender and to merit serious consideration each sound reinforcement solution proposed had to be tailored to the acoustic and other requirements of each individual stadium.
"Ever since founding the firm over 37 years ago, I have worked closely with Electro-Voice," says Prosound MD Terry Acres. "And with good reason: Electro-Voice systems are reliable, robust, evince exceptional mechanical quality and deliver clear and balanced sound. In short: they're the ones that best meet our requirements."
Over 2,300 Electro-Voice and Dynacord loudspeakers and a variety of EV REV-D wireless microphone systems have been installed in the stadiums in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Nelspruit, Port Elizabeth, Rustenburg, Polokwane and Bloemfontein. In South Africa, FRX, ZX5, SX, XLD and EVID boxes from Electro-Voice are being used, whilst Dynacord is represented by over 1,000 loudspeakers from its DL800 series.
Oliver Sahm, director of EVI Audio's Technical Support Team, comments, "Long reverberation times, asymmetric architecture and boisterous fans require sound reinforcement systems and voice alarm systems to be combined, and strict TÜV-certified conformity with international standards is imperative to ensure that fans will be able not only to hear but also to understand safety announcements in case of emergency.
"This is anything but an easy assignment, yet nothing short of Champions' League excellence will suffice. Our Tech Support team in Straubing, drawing on its many years of experience in the field of stadium sound, has developed solutions designed to meet such challenges and honed them to the needs of this year's tournament in South Africa with the assistance of our friends at Prosound."
(Jim Evans)
