One of Israel’s largest international cruise and cargo ports and Southern Israel’s only outlet to the Mediterranean, the city of Ashdod recently launched its Ashdod Lights tour, inviting visitors to walk around five locations hosting high-impact A/V art installations, including video projection on buildings and water screens, projection mapping, lighting and laser effects, and holograms.
Tel Aviv-headquartered pro audio company Gidron Levitan was commissioned to provide the audio systems for the project. ‘It was for crystal-clear powerful sound covering large areas from loudspeakers which had to be weatherproof, as all five installations are outdoors,’ says company owner, sound engineer and musician Eytan Gidron.
As Israel’s distributor for Italian loudspeaker systems manufacturer Outline, he was quick to offer a solution: ‘I immediately suggested Outline Stadia speakers to the audio consultant, as each Stadia 100 is actually four line array elements in one box, specifically designed for this type of application, thanks also to unbeatable weather resistance,’ he says.
For the projection mapping on the facade of the Ashdod municipality building,Levitan installed six Stadia 100 and six custom weatherproof DBS 18-2 subwoofers, as well as six OutSide-coated Vegas 12 CX as surround speakers.
The city’s Art Museum is a glass-roofed pyramid hosting contemporary Israeli and international art in its numerous galleries and halls, including the Green Submarine gallery, dedicated to works of environmental art made from recycled materials. In the building’s entrance, Gidron deployed four Stadia 28, three STSub-215 and six Vegas 8 CX surround loudspeakers.
Sound at the laser show at the nearby Pisgah is courtesy of four Stadia 100 and three custom weatherproof Sub 218 subwoofers. The video projections on a water screen at the Ashdod Sea Park have an even greater impact, thanks to two Stadia 100 and four custom weatherproof DBS 18-2 subwoofers.
At Sea Fort, which hosts video projections on the remains of a Roman fortress located on the Mediterranean coast, with a spectacular 12-minute video narrating the story of Ashdod from ancient times, the soundtrack is fed out by four Arena 215 CX, two STSub-215 and four OutSide-coated Vegas 12 CX on surround duties.
Outline’s OutSide weather-proof three-layer elastoplastic coating material ensures IP55 protection, making systems impervious to weather conditions and therefore the ideal choice for this type of application.
As well as this fundamental aspect, premium audio quality was also indispensable. ‘When my technical support specialist, Nadav Yarkoni, visited all five locations for the audio routing and fine tuning audio, he said all had great sound quality,’Levitan concludes. ‘Consultant Amir Etkin also said he too was very happy with the Outline systems’ sound quality.’
More: www.outline.it
