In a metropolis obsessed with the biggest, best and costliest, CityCenter Las Vegas moves to the front of the class – way to the front. At a price tag approaching $11 billion, CityCenter is the largest privately funded development in the United States. This vast 76-acre, mixed-use complex encompasses not only a mega-size resort and casino (the 61-story Aria), but also three somewhat smaller boutique hotel/residential towers as well the sprawling, upscale Crystals retail and entertainment district.
CityCenter also deploys fully networked AV technology on an unprecedented scale, with the core network technologies for audio systems – as well as the lion’s share of all connected audio equipment – supplied by the Harman Professional Group.
“This is rumored to be the largest consolidated AV system design in history,” reports Darren Smith, who has lived and breathed CityCenter for three years, first at Senior Designer for PMK Consultants, and later in a parallel role with Technology West Group, one of three principal AV contractors. “We estimated the cost at over $100 million for the PMK-designed portion alone. That included 60 venues, thousands of ceiling loudspeakers, several complete concert line array systems, more than 20 equipment rooms, hundreds of input-output panels, thousands of fiber optic runs, and the list goes on.”
In every structure across the campus, the predominant audio equipment manufacturers in nearly all audio categories were companies of the Harman Professional Group. Jim Bowles, Manufacturers Representative for Sound Marketing in Las Vegas estimated component quantities installed into the complex to be 750 BSS London networked DSP units, 700 networked Crown amplifiers, and more than 5,300 JBL loudspeakers.
Because of the highly networked audio infrastructure, it was critical that major components be compatible with not only the networked audio platforms but also common control and monitoring system. At CityCenter, nearly all audio is routed via BSS Soundweb London and then to Crown CTs Series amplifiers, with monitoring and control via Harman Professional’s proprietary HiQNet network using System Architect software.
A keystone component found throughout the complex is the BSS Soundweb London BLU-800, which offers prodigious digital signal processing power as well as connectivity to both CobraNet audio networking and Soundweb’s own propriety BLU-Link bus.
“The BSS BLU-Link alone was a lifesaver on this project,” acknowledges designer Darren Smith. “Overall, the Harman solution offered the only option to satisfy my vision and the extreme requirements. The size of the project dictated equipment rooms spread out over the campus, and we needed complete interconnection and routing ability for any and all sources. We could not come up with a viable solution using any other platform.”
Once the audio networking was set, monitoring and control functions quickly fit hand-in-glove, according to Smith. “Once we confirmed our BSS distribution and DSP design, it was a natural transition to lay out requirements for HiQNet. We required complete monitoring and control of everything from London to Crown amplifiers to VerTec powered line arrays and even the Soundcraft/Studer mixing consoles. Essentially, we needed the ability to grab a specific venue and easily tweak and monitor every aspect of audio on the fly. With such a vast facility, this type of monitoring is absolutely top priority.”
The basics of performance and code approvals also weighed on component selection. “In Las Vegas, UL listing is key, and JBL had it on every product,” notes Smith. “Also, JBL’s speakers for high ceilings were critical in solving high frequency issues when mounted forty-plus feet above the finished floor.”
From the earliest days of the project, Smith and PMK principal consultant Daniel Saenz worked closely with Jim Bowles from Sound Marketing, Harman’s Josh Beaudoin, Paul Chavez and the applications engineering staff at the Harman Professional Group to assess needs for the project. “It was a long and thorough evaluation process,” recalls Saenz, “one that included trips to the JBL factory to audition loudspeakers. Harman was extremely helpful in putting it all together.”
As Darren Smith notes, putting the massive project together in less than three years was “far beyond fast track, even for Las Vegas.” But in at least one respect, contends Harman Professional’s Paul Chavez, the compressed time frame worked to their advantage.
“If this project had happened just 18 months earlier, I’m not sure we would have been able to supply PMK without most recent system advances which allowed them to design an infrastructure to support a comprehensive a and fully integrated system. That applies to both the range of JBL loudspeakers and the scope of integration on the network side. It’s been developing over the years, but with this project we crossed a new technology threshold.”
