Sound Sense Issue 6

SOUND SENSE ISSUE006

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System Designers Conference 2019

Making immersive music in Prague

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Clear calls for air show spectators

Slovakian speakers success

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The kingdom of Santa Claus

Christmas, Italian style

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CONTENTS

EDITORIAL

2019 System Designers Conference

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History meets modernity in Prague

Sideward Brewing Tapping into tasteful background sound

Il Regno di Babbale Natale The sound of Christmas present in Italy

Marco Borsato at De Kuip 250000 fans and a RIVAGE PM7 system

Introducing YIMSA The free online tool for BGM system design

Superior sound for Spanish celebrations Palmeral Resort provides the perfect soundtrack

Safety first in Slovakia Sky high success for air show audio

s more than 300 audio industry professionals descended on the historic city of Prague for Yamaha Music Europe's 2019 System Designers Conference - ironically being held in the city's newest venue - one of the first things mentioned was that immersive sound has effectively been around forever.

Given the array of high technology by Yamaha, NEXO and other companies that facilitated the sessions, it may have seemed a little ironic, because in recent years the expression 'immersive sound' has come to be so closely associated with modern technology.

But it's true, of course. Clap your hands in a cave or any other space with walls, a floor and ceiling and the multiple reflections that come back are, indeed, truly immersive. For centuries before the invention of electro-mechanical amplification, houses of worship, concert halls and other spaces were purposely designed to make the most of how sound works. They were built to be 'immersive' for their time, in the same way that arrays of multiple loudspeakers represent what we call 'immersive' now.

In this, Prague was the perfect location for this year's event. It was another example of the fascinating meeting of minds, mutual learning, exchange of ideas and social interaction that the System Designers Conference does so well.

SOUND SENSE Editor and Scribe: Images in this issue are courtesy of: Stefano Briglaori, Mario Brosch, Karl Christmas, El Palmeral Resort, Don Fonzarelli, Bart Heemskerk , Il Regno di Babbale Natale, Jan Prins, SIAF, Pawel Zachanowicz Sound Sense is published by Yamaha Music Europe GmbH. Any views expressed within are those of the individual authors and contributors and do not necessarily represent those of the publishers.

All contents Š 2019 Yamaha Music Europe GmbH or published under licence. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used, stored, transmitted or reproduced in any way without the prior written permission of the publisher.

All information contained in this publication is for information only and is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press. The publishers cannot accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in such information.

Robin Johnson | robin@9016.uk Commissioning Co-ordinator: Karl Christmas | karl.christmas@music.yamaha.com Contributors: Stefano Brigladori, Mario Brosch, Paul Duwal, Robert Jurik, Karl Christmas, Jacinto Lopez, Jan Prins, Esteban Robledo, Wouter 'Tony' Verkuijl, Garrett Ward Executive Publisher: Ron Bakker | ron.bakker@music.yamaha.com

COVER | STORY

History meets modernity as Prague hosts SDC 2019 In November 2019, the past, present and future of professional sound met in the Czech Republic, as over 300 sound industry professionals from 40 countries headed for the capital Prague, host city for Yamaha’s annual System Designers’ Conference

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his year’s SDC had immersive audio as its main theme.

While we tend to think of immersive audio as a modern concept, any space with four walls, a ceiling and floor produces immersive sound. This made Prague a very appropriate location, as the city’s long history of opera and classical music has seen many venues built with acoustics in mind. It was in the newest of these - the O2 universum, opened just six weeks previously - that the conference took place.

Featuring a wide range of conference facilities and a 4500-seat sports arena, the O2 universum was the perfect location to set up demonstration immersive sound systems in both the largest conference room and the arena, as well as comparing them to a large format NEXO L-R line array system flown in the arena.

Greeted by a welcome buffet at the Hilton Prague hotel, the invited guests were bussed to the O2 universum for the two-day conference. After a welcome

by Nils-Peter Keller, Senior Director Pro Audio & AV Group at Yamaha Music Europe, many guests headed next door to a session titled Application Examples

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of Immersive Sound Technologies, presented by Yamaha’s Joe Rimstid and Dai Hashimoto.

Using a Yamaha AFC4 active field control system, the session called on the Prague Music String Quartet to demonstrate the benefits of AFC4 acoustic room enhancement. This was followed by a demonstration of how immersive audio systems allow the sound of a performer to be tracked around a space, as the string quartet’s Vlastimil Kobrle played a Yamaha SILENT violin™ while walking amongst the audience. Then a moment of entertainment as a stuffed chicken was sent flying around the room, its clucking tracked by the AFC4 system.

This theme was complemented by John Skjelstad of Norway’s TTA Sound, who used the AFC4 system in the arena to demonstrate how stage tracking can be used to heighten the experience of theatre and live music, using himself and a pair of radio-controlled trucks to demonstrate the company’s tracking technology.

Audio consultant Paul Malpas of Ramboll, Mikael Collin of Audile and Hiraku Okumura of Yamaha hosted a discussion about using regenerative audio systems to boost crowd atmosphere at sporting venues, with other immersive and

COVER | STORY

object panning sessions hosted by Matt Hardy of unified control solutions manufacturer DeusO, Paul Jeukendrup of The Hague’s Royal Conservatoire and Erwin Roebroeks from The Game of Life Foundation, Vincent Koning of the Big Orange audio agency, Aldo Lamana of Steinberg and Thomas Görne of Hamburg University of Applied Sciences.

SDC 2019 wasn’t only about immersive audio, however.

Sessions on system design and finance for large arenas were hosted by NEXO, while seminars on acoustic measurement and analysis by Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, education in production management by Hessen University of Applied Sciences, remote conferencing by Yamaha Unified Communications and Microsoft, certification workflows by Avixa, EN54 certification in stadiums and arenas by RH Consulting, artificial intelligence-based voice assistance and processing by Onlim and networking by Audinate were also on offer.

It was appropriate that - as a recent real-world, once-in-a-

generation example of a networked live production with five stages and no less than 11 Yamaha RIVAGE PM and Nuage digital mixing systems - Martin Reich and Greg Baumann of Audio Consulting AG were invited to discuss the enormous challenges presented by Fête des Vignerons in Switzerland.

Of course, it wasn’t just about the seminars. Guests had plenty of opportunity throughout both days to network, discuss their work, exchange ideas and to

Recording and experiencing the virtual tram ride

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COVER | STORY

enjoy a fully-immersive, 3D virtual reality tram ride through Prague. This had been recorded using Yamaha's ViReal 64-channel spherical microphone array, the sound being played back through Yamaha headphones accompanying the visuals on Oculus Go headsets.

They also experienced the real thing, taking a historic tram to the 114 year-old Municipal House, a celebrated concert venue which includes the renowned Smetana Hall and is home to the Prague Music Orchestra.

Here a recital by the Prague Music String Quartet in the Sladkovsky Hall was followed by a lively dinner, accompanied by a traditional accordionist.

Even here, the contrast between audio history and modernity was evident, the

Guest reactions

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Smetana Hall also featuring a NEXO STM line array system for amplified concerts, installed earlier in 2019.

SDC 2019 was another highly successful event, with presenters and guests alike very happy with how the two days panned out (and from front to back).

Yamaha Music Europe would like to thank all of the presenters and the companies who supported the 2019 System Designers Conference: Audile, Audinate, Audioconsulting AG, Avixa, Big Orange, DeusO, Game of Life Foundation, HAW University of Applied Sciences, Microsoft, NEXO, O2 universum, Onlim, Pracownia Akustyczna, Ramboll, RH Consulting, Royal Conservatoire The Hague, Steinberg, THM University of Applied Sciences, TTA, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Yamaha Corporation of America and Yamaha Corporation (Japan).

Special mention must also be made of Yamaha Music Europe’s Ron Bakker, Christine Denner and Robert Jurik, whose hard work behind the scenes made the whole event possible.

Feedback from attendees at SDC2019

"It was a pleasure and really inspiring to meet all these audio

providing two days of workshops, brainstorming, exchanging

professionals in one place. Thanks Yamaha for your hospitality

ideas and experiences on today's and tomorrow’s hot topics in

and the perfectly organised days. It was pretty hard to decide

the pro audio industry." (Roland Mattijsen, Audio Electronics

which of the next speaker slots were the most interesting. We´ll

Mattijsen, Amsterdam)

be back!" (David Heuer, QoSono GmbH & CO KG)

"Many thanks for your invitation to this seminar in Prague. It

“A large and very well organised event, with many great

was beautifully organised, there were varied choices of topics

seminars. I was impressed by the scale of it all.” (Wilfrid Evenblij

with interesting and passionate discussions and it is always a

of BLYsound.com).

pleasure to meet the NEXO team.” (Christophe Dupin, senior

“I salute Yamaha for organizing an inspiring gathering like this,

acoustics partner at 192k.fr, France)

SOUND | SENSE

I N S TA L L AT I O N | I N S P I R AT I O N

Sideward Brewing taps into tasteful background sound Creating the best beer in Orlando, Florida is the mission of Sideward Brewing, where many years of brewing and service industry experience have come together to create a great product and a stylish place to enjoy it

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he Sideward team comprises head brewer Garrett Ward, his partner Mandy and brother Austin. They have fully renovated a 100 year old warehouse to create the brewery and a 100-patron tap room and patio area, allowing customers to drink beer just a few yards from where it was created.

Garrett originally started brewing beer, aged 21, out of his garage. He went on to create award-

winning beers for other businesses, before setting up Sideward in the city’s popular (if ironically named) Milk district with Mandy and Austin. It was a natural course for someone who enjoys the social side of the business. “When you’re trying to do the best beer possible, you end up brewing quite a bit, so it’s always fun to share it,” says Garrett.

Although the scale of brewing is on a completely different level - from five gallon batches in the garage to up to a thousand gallon batches at a time at Sideward - Garrett’s principles have stayed exactly the same.

“It’s the quality of the equipment, ingredients and care which make a great beer,” he says.

That care is extended to the customer experience at the Sideward tap room, which

includes a range of appetising home-made foods made in the on-site kitchen and a high quality Yamaha background audio system.

Designed and installed

by Orlando-based Teer Audio Visual, just four Yamaha VXS8W speakers were needed to cover both the inside and outside seating areas, with an MA2120 mixer amplifier, PA2120 amplifier and DCP1V4S digital control panels for flexible control.

"We wanted to create the whole package, with the quality of the drink and the quality of the space. It’s a cool place to hang out with the best beers,” Garrett smiles.

A video about the Yamaha installation at Sideward Brewing can be seen on the Yamaha_Global YouTube channel.

The Sideward team: Garrett, Mandy and Austin

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FESTIVE | CHEER

Santa Claus brings the sound of Christmas present to Vetralla Italian families do not need to travel to the North Pole to visit Santa Claus, because Il Regno di Babbo Natale (the Kingdom of Santa Claus) is located in Vetralla, just 50km from Rome. A new Yamaha audio system is ensuring that visitors enjoy the best festive atmosphere

quality throughout every space, with 100v line background music for the commercial spaces, background music (BGM) at higher SPLs for the indoor ice rink and delivering live entertainment at the auditorium,” says Stefano Brigliadori of Rome-based Musicis, the contractor who oversaw the system installation.

“It also had to be able to integrate a number of existing speakers, be completely reliable and easy to operate by Mr Aquilani and his staff.”

The main BGM system comprises four MusicCast WXC-50 wireless streaming amplifiers, supplying individual music feeds to the Victorian village, the Christmas market, the auditorium and the entrance. All music is stored in specific maps on a QNAP TS-231P network attached storage

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l Regno di Babbo Natale features over 3500m2 dedicated to the magic of Christmas. It includes a Christmas market, a Victorian village with central covered ice rink and stalls, an auditorium with festive entertainment and, of course, you can meet Santa Claus. With decorations and presents to buy from throughout Europe, it promises a special experience.

What visitors hear is very important for creating the perfect Yuletide atmosphere, as Il Regno di Babbo Natale owner Giorgio Aquilani says, “There is no magic if there is no music.”

In 2019, Yamaha has been trusted to make the atmosphere even more special, thanks to the quality and stability of the company’s pro audio products.

“The customer wanted an audio system which delivered great sound

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(NAS) unit.

Powered by an XMV8140 multi-channel amplifier, 14 VXS5 surface-mount speakers are installed in the Christmas market. 14 more VX5s are installed at the Victorian village stalls, which act as fills for four CZR10 two-way passive loudspeakers and two CXS18XLF subwoofers (all with SPCVR series protective speaker covers) covering the ice rink.

The CZR/CXS speakers are driven by two PX10 amplifiers, the CXS18XLF are processed using the amplifiers’ XTENDED LF mode DSP tuning, which takes the subwoofers down to a remarkable 29Hz. The system is managed by an MRX7-D matrix processor with DCH8 digital controller hub. An EXi8 input expander and two Tio1608-D Dante I/O racks (one in the Victorian village, one at the auditorium) house the inputs and outputs.

Meanwhile, two STAGEPAS 1K all-in-one portable PA systems are installed at the auditorium to deliver great sound for bigger performances. Audio is sourced from two outputs from the Tio1608-D installed in the auditorium, meaning they are volume and content controlled by the MRX7-D - an innovative way of incorporating these non-networked units into the system.

FESTIVE | CHEER

The system was programmed by Yamaha’s Wouter ‘Tony’ Verkuijl to be as automated as possible. For example, when the venue’s entertainers do a show at the Victorian village or auditorium, they plug a MG06X portable mixer into a specific input on the Tio1608-D. The MRX7-D then automatically fades out the BGM and amplifies the MG06X in that area. After the show, the animators disconnect the MG06X and the MRX fades the BGM back in. If they don’t want to dim the BGM, they can plug into a different Tio1608-D input.

Three DCP4V4S wall mounted panels control the system, two programmed with a specific volume control for the entertainers, making it very simple for them to use. The third DCP4V4S is programmed with two presets for the main system.

The ON preset opens all channels and provides BGM in all areas at moderate volume and allowing staff to increase the volume as Il Regno di Babbo Natale becomes busier.

The OFF preset mutes BGM in most areas, but keeps the CZR/CXS system in the Victorian village active, because it stays open later each day than the other areas. The XMV8140 amplifier is put into standby mode by the MRX7-D to reduce energy use. Switching the system to ON the next morning wakes the XMV in around two seconds.

As Giorgio Aquilani is a very ‘hands-on’ owner, Tony programmed Yamaha’s Wireless DCP Android/iOS app so he can walk around the site and adjust the volume of each zone, depending on the level of

noise being generated by customers. The system also includes a Windows PC with Yamaha’s MTX-MRX Editor, allowing it to be adjusted remotely.

“Il Regno di Babbo Natale is a very popular attraction, guests travel from a wide area to visit it and Mr Aquilani is delighted that Yamaha has delivered what he asked for and what we promised,” says Stefano Brigladori.

“Christmas would not be the same without the atmosphere of a great festive soundtrack and Il Regno di Babbo Natale has even produced its own festive album, Le Canzoni del Regno di Babbo Natale (The Songs of the Kingdom of Santa Claus).

“Mr Aquilani is so pleased with the sound quality of the Yamaha speakers that he is already planning to replace some of the older, non-Yamaha speakers to improve the audio quality in those areas.”

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LIVE | LEGEND

Marco Borsato 250000 fans RIVAGE PM7

In the summer of 2019, Dutch superstar Marco Borsato became the first artist to play five sold-out stadium shows at De Kuip, home of Feyenoord Rotterdam football club. A Yamaha RIVAGE PM7 digital mixing system helped ensure that Marco, his band and an array of guest vocalists gave a quarter of a million fans an unforgettable experience.

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arco Borsato has consistently been one of the Netherlands biggest and most successful singers since winning Dutch TV talent contest Soundmixshow nearly 30 years ago. Playing to 50,000 people at each of the De Kuip shows, the four evening and one afternoon concerts ensured that fans of all ages were able to enjoy a spectacular stadium production. It included an 80m wide stage set, pyrotechnics and a 1000m2 LED video screen, the largest ever used on a Dutch live show. The singer himself said “It doesn’t get any better than this!”

The shows needed an equally impressive audio production, supplied by Utrecht-based Peak Audio, who have worked with Borsato for many years. Experienced FoH engineer and system designer Barak Koren deployed multiple line arrays, ensuring

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that a high quality mix could be heard in all seats. This resulted in an unprecedented zero number of complaints from the 250,000 total audience.

Of course good sound out front requires good sound on stage, which is where monitor engineer Paul Duwel has held the position for Borsato since 1996. It was Paul who recently helped to persuade Peak Audio to invest in a Yamaha RIVAGE PM7 system.

Paul has used Yamaha digital mixers for many years and was one of the first Dutch engineers to use the PM1D, first with Borsato and then on a theatre production.“In the theatre everybody thought I was crazy, because it’s such a big desk,” he says. “But I showed them the first layer was Front of House and the second layer was monitors, so it was really two desks.”

LIVE | LEGEND

He continues, “I had been looking for another console for some time and really liked the RIVAGE PM7. Peak Audio were into it as well, so I was very pleased when they made the investment.”

Such is Paul’s confidence in Yamaha - and the artist’s confidence in Paul - that these stadium shows were the first that he had mixed monitors on the RIVAGE PM7. But he couldn’t have been happier.

“It’s small in size, but it has so many tools and is so fast and logical to use,” he says. “You can create custom layers really quickly, you’ve got the Rupert Neve Designs plug-ins, you’ve got Dante... it’s all there.”

The monitor set-up for the shows featured 118 inputs, including 16 channels of backing tracks and 12 talkback mics for the seven onstage musicians and five crew (“RIVAGE PM7 has an excellent routing system for talkback,” notes Paul).

Introducing YIMSA

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esigning a successful background music (BGM) system, even for small spaces, is usually seen as something that only a professional systems integrator can do, adding both cost and time to a project.

But with Yamaha’s new online tool, YIMSA, designing BGM systems for small to medium-sized premises will be quicker and free of any cost.

The Yamaha In-store Music System Advisor (YIMSA) is a free online tool which provides system recommendations based on the input of some basic, easy to understand details.

YIMSA users do not need an in-depth

There were 70 outputs, mainly stereo in-ears and a number of wedges, keeping onstage SPLs low, but not compromising on atmosphere for the performers.

Aided by the experience of Peak Audio production manager / engineer Bart Schouten and the rest of the Peak Audio crew, Paul enjoyed five highly successful shows. Despite their size and profile meaning huge pressure on the production team, RIVAGE PM7 ensured that everything in monitor world went without a hitch.

“RIVAGE PM7 is the best thing that has happened to me in the industry,” says Paul. “I love it. If I could advise young engineers, I’d say start on a Yamaha QL1, work up to the RIVAGE PM7 or PM10 and you’ll be very happy!”

Paul Duwel is the subject of a Yamaha In The Spotlight video, at https://youtu.be/zD3BWbOcl4Y Paul Duwal

knowledge of audio or be aware of the Yamaha product range. It asks straightforward questions like “What is the store atmosphere?” and “What quality of music is desired?” with simple buttons to choose the answers.

When these questions have been answered and the size of the space entered, YIMSA will recommend a choice of ‘good’ or ‘best’ solutions, based on Yamaha’s VXS and VXC series speakers and MA/PA series amplifiers. The recommendation will also suggest speaker layouts for the system.

YIMSA is free to use, will work in any web browser and supports 10 languages.

It can be found at https://uk.yamaha. com/en/products/contents/proaudio/ yimsa/index.html

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RESORT | REPORT

Superior sound for Spanish celebrations Covering 81 hectares of Spanish countryside, Palmeral Resort is a stunning location for weddings and other family celebrations. Aiming to create memorable experiences and lasting memories, a zoned Yamaha audio system ensures that guests enjoy the perfect soundtrack to their event.

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The decision to install a Yamaha audio solution helps to ensure that the results from now through to our maximum development will be a success

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almeral Resort is situated at Talavera de la Reina in the province of Toledo, 140km south west of Madrid. Set amongst palm trees, fountains, attractive gardens and a lake, it features a chill-out terrace, festival tent, outdoor lounge, swimming pool, disco, children’s area alongside indoor facilities comprising a main lounge, spacious restaurant, attractive bridal suite and reception areas. With highly attentive staff, all guests are assured of an enjoyable and memorable experience.

The resort’s management needed to provide great sound in all areas, but with the versatility to manage each area independently or as groups, depending on the needs of each event. El Palmeral owner Esteban Robledo is a young entrepreneur who is very tuned in to new technologies, so he knew that the solution was a network-based system.

“In a resort covering such a large area and with so many different zones, the use of analogue technology would obviously have been a mistake.

Digital audio networking gave us the opportunity to centralise the control and the possibility to manage the entire system by one person,” he says.

“It also reduced the complexity of the installation and would make considerable economic savings, not to mention the opportunity of expanding the installation using the same design philosophy.”

With the variety of areas that needed to be covered, and the distances between them, Talavera de la Reina-based A/V specialist Telsokit chose a Yamaha solution, with an MRX7-D matrix processor as the core of a system covering 12 different zones and with 50 audio inputs.

Chosen for the versatility of its openarchitecture DSP and being more than capable of meeting all the client’s needs, the MRX7-D is supported by two MTX3 matrix processors, with two Tio1608-D I/O Rack units for additional inputs and outputs. The entire system is powered by five XMV8280 amplifiers.

RESORT | REPORT

“One of the main installation requirements was to route audio from one area to another in a simple and fast way, allowing us to join or separate the zones, according to the needs of each event,” says Telsokit CEO Miguel Angel Aguado.

Throughout the resort, a total of 72 VXS8 surface mount and six VXC5F ceiling loudspeakers distribute ambient music from three MusicCast WXC50DS wireless streaming amplifiers, with a separate WXC50DS providing content for the children’s area. In addition, three laptops connected via Dante Virtual Soundcard supply high quality audio, with none of the background noise typical of analogue audio connections to computers.

Three wireless Line6 XD-V55 microphones are included in the system, which can be used for a wide variety of uses. The MRX7-D’s Dan Dugan automixing ensures that more than one

microphone can be used without any need for manual mixing. To deliver the powerful sound needed for the disco, DXR12 full-range, powered loudspeakers and DXS15 compact powered subwoofers were installed.

Bespoke control panels were created in the ProVisionaire Touch app, for iPad-based systemwide control of input sources and volume levels, and ProVisionaire Control Kiosk on a Windows PC with a higher level of access, zone switching and paging. Five DCP4S1V surface mount controllers have also been installed throughout the resort, allowing staff to locally choose the audio source and adjust the volume for each main zone.

“One of the most important features of the system is the ability to control everything from

a tablet or PC, meaning the vast majority of expansion work is at software level. This allows the customer’s needs to be easily adapted, without having to add additional hardware,” says Miguel Angel.

But this is just the beginning for Palmeral Resort, as Esteban Robledo explains: “This is a medium term project and our facilities are going to grow year by year. The decision to install a Yamaha audio solution helps to ensure that the results from now through to our maximum development will be a success,” he says.

“We are very grateful for the dedication, understanding and patience that the staff from Yamaha and Telsokit have shown. It is a pleasure to work with such professional people.”

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It’s a pleasure to work with such professional people

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SOUND | SAFETY

Air show audio's sky high success Fast jets, amazing aerobatics and classic warbirds have an enduring appeal to aviation fans and families alike, guaranteeing big audiences at major air shows across the world. Crowd safety is paramount, which is why the Slovak Aviation Agency trusted Yamaha sound reinforcement at its two biggest events in 2019.

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he annual Slovak International Air Fest (SIAF) is one of Europe’s premier air shows. In 2019, the Slovak Aviation Agency added a new annual air festival to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of celebrated Slovakian politician, diplomat and aviator General Milan Rastislav Štefánik. Yamaha audio systems were an essential part of both.

Held at Sliač airport every August, SIAF is one of the country’s most popular events, this year attracting an audience of over 100,000, including Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini and Defence Minister Peter Gajdoš. The crowds enjoyed flying displays by aircraft from Slovakia and 12 other NATO and EU member states, with contemporary and historic military and civilian aircraft, aerobatics and a wide range of ground exhibits.

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Before this, in May the new Aviation Fest Piešťany (FLP) was held at Piešťany airport, located between Sliač and the Slovakian capital Bratislava. Systems integrator MediaTech was asked to supply the public address systems to both events, trusting Yamaha systems for these safety critical applications.

“At both events, the main zone was the spectator area along the flight line, which measured approximately 800 x 300m, plus

SOUND | SAFETY

a VIP area covering 300m x 100m.” says MediaTech’s Mario Brosch.

“We had to consider that there may be up to 100,000 spectators in the main area and all of them had to hear and understand announcements, even when aircraft were passing and in bad weather like wind and rain. The speakers could also only be positioned along the boundary of the spectator area.”

When they had considered all of the requirements, Mario and the Bratislavabased MediaTech team chose a system comprising 40 pole-mounted DZR15 powered loudspeakers, whose best-inclass SPL performance, sophisticated DSP processing and unrivalled low-frequency sound reproduction were ideal for this challenging application. A TF1 digital mixing console was used to mix the input sources.

MediaTech also supplied the audio systems for a hangar party at both events - comprising two DSR115 high performance active loudspeakers and two DXS15 powered subwoofers, mixed on a QL5 digital console - and, at Piešťany, an outdoor stage with theatre productions based on important events in the life of General Štefánik. Here two DZR315 three-way powered loudspeakers and two DZR18 XLF extended low frequency powered subwoofers comprised the main PA, with five DSR112 active loudspeakers as stage monitors, all mixed on another QL5 digital mixing console.

“We were very pleased that the sound was very clear throughout the spectator areas, despite the speakers operating almost permanently in the rain at FLP,” says Mario. “Yamaha’s SPCVR series protective speaker covers did a fantastic job. After taking down the system we checked every speaker, which only

confirmed the reliability and sophisticated design of both the speakers and the covers. They gave us total confidence that the system would be the perfect solution for SIAF, one of Slovakia’s most important annual events.”

“Mr. Hubert Štoksa, CEO of SIAF and Director of the Slovak Aviation Agency was very satisfied, along with the other co-organizers, with how the audio system worked at both events,” he adds. “We have used Yamaha products for several years and they offer excellent performance / price ratio. They have proved their long-term reliability, the quality of their performance and great sound, all of which are always appreciated by our clients.”

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