Florence (Italy), seventh September 2023 – Greater than 60 Powersoft Quattrocanali 4804 amplifiers are delivering the ability for an all-new PA system serving one of many largest stadia in West Africa.
Positioned within the eponymous suburb of Abidjan, the most important metropolis within the Ivory Coast, the Olympic Stadium of Ebimpé is the nation’s nationwide stadium, being dwelling to The elephantsthe Ivory Coast nationwide soccer workforce. The 60,000-seat venue was inaugurated on 3 October 2020, when it was given the extra title Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium (Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium), after the Ivorian president. It’s anticipated to ultimately kind the center of an enormous, 287-hectare Olympic village, and can subsequent 12 months host the opening ceremony and closing match of the postponed 2023 Africa Cup of Nations match.
The necessity for a brand new sound system so quickly after the Olympic Stadium’s building got here after its authentic PA system – put in by the unique contractor, China’s Beijing Building Engineering Group (BCEG) – was broken by antagonistic climate circumstances. The brand new system was designed by Ricardo Castro, CEO of Portuguese AV consultancy RCOe, on behalf of native integrator Protech Distribution.
Along with the 61 Quattrocanali 4804 – of which he opted for the DSP+D mannequin, with Dante audio-over-IP networking – Castro specified 14 Powersoft Duecanali 6404 DSP+D amplifiers to lend further energy for the 104-loudspeaker system, which is split into 28 clusters to maximise audio protection throughout the stadium. A pair of Quattrocanali are bi-amped to every Group R2-66MAX speaker cluster, whereas the Duecanali are used to energy the Group IS8-215 subs.
All amplifiers, patchboxes and community switches are divided into 4 rack rooms, situated on the 4 corners of the stadium, to minimise the size of the cable connection to the loudspeakers. A Biamp TesiraFORTÉ DAN DSP is used as a Dante converter for the first audio supply to the amplifiers, in addition to for a four-zone paging system for safety and emergency bulletins.
Castro explains that whereas he’s usually manufacturer-agnostic, he knew when first approached by Inza Bamba, Protech’s managing director, with whom he has a protracted working relationship, that Powersoft amplifiers and Group loudspeakers from Biamp can be an ideal match for the new-look Ebimpé Stadium – and that’s earlier than he discovered that BCEG had used some Powersoft racks for the in any other case poorly designed earlier set up. This discovery was necessary from a budgetary perspective: having already paid out for one sound system, the stadium’s managing committee was on the lookout for an economical answer for its substitute.
Moreover, “time was very tight, which I feel was the largest problem,” continues Castro. “I used to be given six months for all the things.” The set up was accomplished on time in Could, regardless of further difficulties recruiting suppliers and coping with a scarcity of components and tools. On that entrance, “Inza managed issues very effectively,” he provides.
To substantiate that the stadium operator had made the appropriate determination signing off on his design, Castro initially outfitted 1 / 4 of the venue – one in all 4 zones – with the brand new Powersoft–Group/Biamp system as a proof of idea. “I mentioned, ‘Let’s see the way it works,’” he remembers. “And on one of many days we have been there, stadium employees, consultants and shoppers all got here alongside and heard the system for themselves, and so they couldn’t imagine the distinction – in sound high quality, quantity and intelligibility – in comparison with the earlier system. It sounds unbelievable.”
Powersoft options engineering workforce chief Davide Quarto – one in all 4 folks on website to configure and take a look at the brand new system, together with Castro, Bamba and John Caton of Biamp – says that every one events have been proud of the help supplied by Powersoft each in the course of the set up and system set-up. “They strongly imagine within the added worth of Powersoft when supporting challenge actions, from the design part to the system first run by a talented technical workforce,” he feedback. “To them that is robust affirmation of why selecting Powersoft makes a distinction.”
Quarto provides that the stadium audio workforce are notably appreciative of the operator view interface supplied by ArmoníaPlus, Powersoft’s system design and monitoring software program, because it limits person entry to the system configuration choices. “The shopper needed to have a system that may solely be monitored and safely operated,” he explains, “with restricted entry to the system, in order to keep away from harmful conditions like altering the EQ or presets and even unlinking an amplifier.”
“I’ve been working with Powersoft for over ten years – it’s a really dependable model and we all know their merchandise work,” confirms Castro. “They’ve good experience, the help is nice, and their amplifier platforms are very dependable. Plus, their software program, ArmoníaPlus, is a should for us in terms of getting all the things linked and ensuring it’s all working correctly.
“After all, there are different manufacturers additionally do good work, however in terms of difficult areas and installations, you understand you may rely on Powersoft.”