Leicester City Football Club’s King Power Stadium has recently seen the arrival of a new Electro-Voice sound system installation, covering Walkers Hall, the Weller conference room and its bar area.
The principal task for Birmingham-based installer DMX Productions was to achieve uniform coverage of the challenging shape of Walkers Hall, which is used for presentations and conferences. The chosen solution was Electro-Voice’s EVC-1122-VI loudspeaker with its unique variable-intensity configuration that evenly covers a clearly defined rectangular area. The loudspeakers are driven by a CPS8.5 eight-channel class-D amplifier and two PA4150L four-channel amplifiers.
‘The variable-intensity technology gave us exactly the right amount of gain shading to cope with the change in room height, and the uniform coverage that we set out to achieve,’ DMX Productions’ SJ Grevett explains.
Eight white EVC-1122-VI cabinets form the main solution, mounted near the ceiling of the 3.9m-high void space. These are supplemented by 16 Electro-Voice Evid 6.2 wallmounted loudspeakers. The high loudspeaker count further contributes to even coverage at moderate sound levels, yet ensures plenty of headroom when needed.
‘SPL measurements confirmed that coverage is really even, with only 2-3dB difference in level anywhere in the room,’ Grevett reports. ‘In every room configuration – end-on, or with stage either at right or left such as for the players’ awards – a presenter can roam with a radio mic, even directly underneath a loudspeaker, and there’s no risk of feedback.’
‘I’m really pleased with the way the EVs cover the whole of the Walker Hall, it’s totally seamless no matter where you are in the room, and the speakers look and sound great,’ LCFC Technical Manager Tom Brown agrees.
A further two spaces – a bar area and a conference room – are fitted with ZX1i loudspeakers in white, while a set of Evolve 50 portable column speaker systems is always available for special events requiring extra-high SPL and extended bass. The bar area installation comprises four ZX1i-90W 8-inch full-range loudspeakers and PA2450L two-channel amplifier.
‘I’m very happy,’ Grevett concludes. ‘The acid test for us is when the visiting engineer prefers to use the house system to get a better result – that speaks volumes.’
