Oriole Park at Camden Yards has housed the Baltimore Orioles since its unveiling in 1992 and continues to be a favorite among baseball enthusiasts.
The park recently benefited from the installation of a new distributed sound reinforcement system, featuring nearly 300 loudspeakers from EAW, which was completed in time for the Orioles’ April 6 season opener against the New York Yankees.
The Maryland Stadium Authority, which manages the state-owned facility, contracted Tampa-based AV integration company AVI-SPL to install the system, which was designed by New York-based SIA Acoustics.
“Working with EAW to complete the Oriole Park installation made the process easy for us,” states Sam Berkow of SIA Acoustics. “EAW and our contracting team, AVI-SPL, worked out an initial schedule for delivery, in order to meet a tough installation timetable, and they met every deadline – with products we could rely on right out of the box.”
SIA selected a wide range of EAW products for the project. EAW AX364-WP (weather protected variation) loudspeakers were used for the upper and lower deck front-fire coverage, while EAW MK2394-WP full range loudspeakers handle upper deck down- and rear-fill, as well as lower deck rear-fill and outfield front-fire. In addition, EAW JFX100i compact loudspeakers perform club level front-fire and lower deck down-fill coverage.
An EAW UX8800 digital signal processor was employed for loudspeaker processing, with the system also incorporating BSS for system control, 110 Crown power amplifiers and a 48-channel Yamaha digital mixing console. A digital audio network is utilized for signal distribution throughout the stadium, minimizing signal loss and improving reliability and control. Remote monitoring and control of every amplifier channel is also provided.
Will Parry, Vice President of Sales for AVI-SPL notes, “Eighteen years ago the team at legacy SPL installed the original system at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. At that time it was one of the first distributed sound systems in professional sports and radically changed the way Major League Stadiums were designed and heard.
“As a resident of Maryland and as part of the original team, I was extremely proud to have been involved in that project. The upgraded audio system that SIA Acoustics designed and AVI-SPL installed certainly reaffirms Oriole Park as a world class ball park. EAW loudspeakers made our job easy as they just sound great.”
