Stadium-Install-Location
Where to Install Loudspeakers in a Small Football / Soccer Stadium
» Read where to install loudspeakers in a Small Baseball Stadium
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Having the right loudspeakers for your stadium audio project is not enough – you have to install them in the right location.
What Not to Do:
| Wrong Loudspeaker Location |
Resulting Coverage (approximate) |
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Problems:
• Installing loudspeakers on widely separated light poles seems like a good idea, but it actually leads to many problems. The sound from the near speaker arrives before the sound from the far speaker – resulting in an impossible-to-kill echo. This echo degrades speech clarity and music quality.
• Wiring is another problem – the cable runs required to reach from the press box (where the announcer is operating the PA system) all the way to the light poles may be several hundred feet. This requires either VERY thick or expensive cable (to avoid wasting all the amplifier power in the wire), or a more costly “70-volt” system.
• Another problem is coverage – by pointing loudspeakers towards the home side only, the field and the visitor side remains uncovered. Additional loudspeakers may be needed to cover the field and away side, which is costly and leads to other problems with echo, acoustic cancellation, wiring etc.
• Another problem is that any “excess” sound is radiating out of the stadium in the direction behind the press box – perhaps into a residential neighborhood. Not good!
Do this Instead:
| Correct Loudspeaker Location | Resulting Coverage (approximate) |
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Advantages:
• Installing loudspeakers on press box means any listener hears just one speaker (or if they hear two, sound from the two loudspeakers arrives at the listener simultaneously). Result: minimal echo!
• Cable runs are very short, reducing cost and making installation quick and simple. Cables only have to reach from the amp rack in the press box to the corners of the press box.
• Coverage is optimal: because of Technomad loudspeakers wide dispersion pattern, the entire home side bleachers are covered. Additionally, the field is covered AND the away side is covered (of course, not as loudly as the home side, but that’s what they get for being on the opposing team).
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q. “Don’t the loudspeakers on the press box fry the ears of fans sitting near them?”
A. No. First of all, Technomad loudspeakers do not produce the nasty horn-throat distortion typical of horn-based systems, so the sound at all locations in the stadium is smooth, clear, and non-abrasive. The loudspeakers on the press box should be installed above the fans, pointing straight out from the mounting surface (not tipped down towards the bleachers), and rotated left and right by 5 to 10 degrees. This results in complete coverage of the home side bleachers, with all the sound radiating usefully towards the field and to the Visitor stands. This type of installation delivers most of the sound onto the field, and minimizes spillage into adjacent areas.
Q. “I HAVE to install the loudspeakers on a light pole. What should I do?”
A. If it is really impossible to install as described above, then AT LEAST install all the loudspeakers on a single central pole in a “cluster”, pointing the individual loudspeakers in the cluster as needed to cover the seating. Keeping the loudspeakers in a central cluster avoids the different-listening-distance problem described above, and increases bass response of the overall system.
Q. “I have a baseball field. Where should I install my loudspeakers?”
A. Install a small cluster of two Technomad Noho C or Berlin 15/H loudspeakers above and behind home plate, pointing loudspeakers left and right as needed to cover the stands.