Electro-Voice's partner in the region, Prosound won the commission to install the sound systems in nine of the 10 stadiums being used.
"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. 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.
Prosound's experience in the equipping of sports stadiums goes back to 1981 when the audio firm developed and installed a comprehensive sound reinforcement system for Ellis Parks Stadium in Johannesburg; a system that has been tweaked and further developed it in certain areas to meet the special challenges of the present tournament.
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)
