Home to cultural performances and video displays of the Winter Olympics during the day and medal ceremonies in the evening, the Medals Plaza stage within the PyeongChang Olympic Plaza is served by an EAW Adaptive System provided by Seoul-based Rhino Sound Systems.
The Medal Plaza features a wide, domed stage and an audience area wider than it is deep. The challenge was to blanket the outdoor area with clean, high-quality sound while keeping it contained to the audience area, which butted up against stores and other public spaces. In addition, the stage hosted many different forms of entertainment which required a system flexible enough to accommodate those needs.
‘I was very pleased with the sound and coverage when we tuned the system,’ says Rhino Sound Systems Manager and Audio Engineer, Gwon Seung Cheoul. ‘Resolution is easy to use and quite accurate – this was no exception. One of the reasons the IOC and PyeongChang Association chose Rhino to reinforce the stage was because of the coverage and control our Adaptive system offers. Everyone was very happy with the end result.’
Gwon Seung Cheoul used EAW Resolution 2 software to design the system and ensure even coverage of the audience area. The main PA comprised 20 Anya modules housed in scaffolding towers erected left and right of the stage. Two columns of five Anya modules were hung in each scaffold. Front fill was provided by eight Anna modules, hung in LR columns of four, located behind scrim above the stage video screens.
A combination of 12 Otto subwoofers located under each Anya array provided the low end the programme demands. Stage fill was handled by left and right stacks of three KF730 enclosures and two SB1002Z subwoofers, while 16 MicroWedge stage monitors – eight MW12 and eight MW8 – were available for the performers. Four EAW UX8800 processors were used for system optimisation.
‘The temperatures were also a concern,’ explains Gwon Seung Cheoul. ‘We worked in sub-zero temperatures, 0-15° every day, throughout the games. Once we had the system up and running, I never turned it off – for close to 30 days – and I never had any issues. It was rock solid.’
‘It is an incredible honour to have our products in such a prestigious location in the Olympic Plaza,’ says EAW President and General Manager, TJ Smith. ‘When our distributor Dasan told us that Rhino Sound Systems would use Adaptive to reinforce the Medals Plaza stage, we were delighted. We are very pleased that EAW was able to play such a prominent role in the 2018 winter games. Gwon and the Rhine Sound team did an amazing job.’
