The installation in the 18,000-seater stadium was performed by the Clermont-Ferrand branch of Manganelli, supported by EVI Audio France. "Those responsible for the stadium wanted a sound reinforcement system with the highest intelligibility level possible," explains Jean Marandet, the French Electro-Voice distributor's product & service manager.
The greatest challenge was the need to obtain high sound pressure levels and at the same time even coverage with a 100-V system.
In the case of the Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin, simulations and calculations revealed the most appropriate set-up to consist of 44 Sx600PIX dual 12" two-way loudspeakers flown from the underside of the stadium roof, complemented by 29 ZX1i-100T 8" two-way full-range loudspeakers.
"For this installation, three irrefutable arguments spoke in the Sx600's favour," states Marandet, "high SPL, a 100-V transformer, and weather resistance." The enclosures are powered by 15 P1200RT amplifiers, also from Electro-Voice, as is the NetMax N8000 digital matrix controller, which, through the medium of IRIS-Net software, adds remote control and supervision to the ensemble.
"100-V systems have come under fire in certain quarters from pro audio experts - unfairly, in my opinion." says Marandet. "You only have to listen to the installation here in the Parc des Sports, which fears no comparison, to realize that they've come on recently in leaps and bounds."
(Jim Evans)
