Systems integrator NoiseBoys Technologies recently designed and installed a new sound reinforcement system for the ice rink at the Spectrum Leisure Complex in Guildford, UK with audio power provided by APEX CloudPower amplifiers.
The Olympic-sized ice rink is home to Guildford Flames, a professional team in the Elite Ice Hockey League. Among the project requirements were the need to provide high quality audio throughout the acoustically challenging space, and to extend audio coverage to spectator stands. The venue is open from 4.30 am to 11.00 pm daily and hosts a packed program of matches, training, figure skating, leisure sessions, Ice Xtreme disco nights, and more. To minimize disruption to the client, the NoiseBoys team completed most of the AV upgrade in the early hours of the morning, ensuring that all equipment was off the ice before the early training sessions began each day.
The installation involved the removal of three pairs of old, centrally located 15-inch loudspeakers hanging above the ice. These bulky cabinets were replaced by 22 FBT Shadow 108CT eight-inch coaxial all-weather loudspeakers distributed throughout the space, supported by six Shadow 114S-T subwoofers, to deliver even coverage to the rink and adjacent stands.
Amplification is provided by a trio of APEX CloudPower CP1504 amplifiers, each delivering 4 x 1500 watts. NoiseBoys, which is based in Lutterworth, made extensive use of the CloudPower amplifiers’ integral equalisers and other DSP tools to mitigate the inevitable reverberations encountered in an environment with many hard surfaces. Each of the new amplifiers occupies a single rack unit, freeing up space in a control room that previously housed a rack full of older analog amps. Both the loudspeakers and amplifiers were supplied by distributor FBT Audio (UK) Ltd.
“CloudPower gave us all the tools we needed at a sensible cost,” explains NoiseBoys Technologies director Phill Beynon. “With the time constraints we were working under, it was great being able to use the IntelliCloud software to tweak the amplifier EQ and level settings from the ice or in the stands, without wasting time climbing all the way up to the amp room each time. The APEX team was also refreshingly approachable and happy to discuss the project with us.”
The new system has been designed for intelligibility of announcements and commentary, and it can also deliver the higher SPL needed for disco nights and special events. As different uses of the facility require sound reinforcement in discreet areas, NoiseBoys created a custom browser-based interface that allows the ice rink staff to switch between events that require audio on the ice only, in the stands only, or throughout the whole venue.
