The recent two-day ADAC Supercross motorcycle competition at the Westfalenhallen exhibition centre in Dortmund, Germany offered 360-degree sound reinforcement handled by a system headed by D.A.S. Audio line arrays.

The live event was broadcast onto huge LED screens hung in the center of the venue to bring the experience and performance of the leading drivers even closer to the more than 9,000 spectators each day. Music clips, advertisements, statements, progress reports, greetings, and awards ceremonies were recorded and broadcast to every seat in the hall, and every spectator seated around the perimeter of the venue could see at least one full unobstructed LED screen.

In addition to the need to provide 360-degree sound reinforcement, the sound design also needed to take coverage into account the distance from the spectators in the first rows, which varied between about 60 feet to 140 feet. Additional factors included the anticipated background noise stemming from the roar of 10 motocross motorbikes at a time driving past fans as well as the resulting cheering of all those spectators. 

In the preliminary planning meetings for this project, it quickly became clear to Lars Schnier, D.A.S. Audio system sesigner in Germany, that, “It’s a jungle out there. The only way to win this fight is with every weapon in your arsenal at the ready.” He selected the company’s Aero 50 line arrays to cover the venue’s long throw requirements, with each array comprised of six elements.

The longer diameter of the venue was fitted on one side with Aero 12A compact powered line array enclosures and, on the other side, with an Aero 28A system to test and compare the two options. The under-balcony sound system consisted of 24 Variant 25A powered, mid-high line array elements—rigged under the galleries in order to minimize shadows in the rows furthest back. 

Sixteen Lab.gruppen FP10000Q power amps—augmented by 4 Lake LM26 controllers—provided amplification and processing for the Aero 50’s as well as signal distribution to the Aero 12A and Aero 28A enclosures. This equipment was distributed throughout the ceiling areas using the accessible rigging in the hall.

All system controllers for the Aero 50 loudspeakers, along with the D.A.S. DSP-4080 signal processors for the Aero 12A and Aero 28A enclosures, were controlled by a wireless remote.  At the end of the installation, Lars Schnier and his system assistant, Lucas Gripshöfer, had 24 discreet audio zones to measure, level, and bring into phase with each other: a considerable task that the two managed most efficiently. 

The Aero 12A proved to be a very good loudspeaker choice for this application. The two clusters of eight Aero 12A’s were positioned to provide coverage over an angle of roughly 28 degrees. The system, as tuned and positioned by Schnier, provided consistent coverage for the entire horizontal and vertical area as far as the adjacent Aero 50 units. Checks on all the different levels during the breaks showed both systems to be complementing one another nicely—providing dropout free audio coverage throughout all areas of the venue.

The results of all of the measurements, loudspeaker placement, and fine-tuning resulted in uninterrupted views of all of the LED screens and a full-range sound system that provided the high level of speech intelligibility and even coverage throughout the venue that the various event managers, technicians, and VIP guests had hoped for—even against the background racing noise, which meant that Lars Schnier and Lucas Gripshöfer for D.A.S. Audio, in cooperation with Soundart GmbH & Co KG and HWS Veranstaltungstechnik, delivered sound quality that helped make the event a rousing success.

D.A.S. Audio