Hurrairah bin Sohail speaks with integrator Mahajak about an audio deployment at Ratchaburi Provincial Stadium where installation was not as simple and straightforward as it initially seemed.
Ratchaburi Provincial Stadium is
located in Ratchaburi Province,
Thailand. The stadium holds
10,000 people and is primarily
used for football matches,
formerly being the home stadium for the football
team Ratchaburi Mitr Phol.
As technology advances and user expectations
increase in terms of quality, stadiums need to
evaluate how they can improve their facilities.
With this in mind, Ratchaburi Provincial Stadium
decided to upgrade its audio system.
Mahajak was the system integrator for the
project. Sakon Chaloesong supported the design
of the system and handled the specifying of the
equipment to be deployed. Surasak Manassong
supported the installation and supply of the
system products. Dr. Ralf-Udo Hartmann
programmed the sound simulation.
The directive from the client was simple.
Rungrote Kerdpimon, project sales engineer at
Mahajak, comments: “The customer required
an audio system that supported public
announcement and music during the games.
This was the starting point from which the
project proceeded. Our job was to provide an
audio system that delivered sufï¬cient loudness
and clear sound for the stadium.”
As can be expected, the demands placed on
an audio system in a stadium application
are high. Kerdpimon says: “The end user
expected to get audio for a sports
facility. This meant that the audio
system had to be able to handle
both speech and music, which
complicated matters. Also, since the speakers
would be installed in outdoor locations, weather
resistance was a key factor in our selection
process for speakers.”
JBL PD566-WRC horn loaded speakers,
PD525S-WRC subwoofers, AWC129 speakers and
LSR305 monitor speakers have been deployed
across the stadium to provide audio coverage.
Kerdpimon says regarding
the selection of the
speakers: “The JBL
speakers ticked all
the boxes for the
requirements from the client while still remaining
within the budget. So the JBL speakers were the
most suited for this project in our opinion.”
The loudspeakers also presented the biggest
challenge from an integration standpoint.
Kerdpimon narrates: “Getting the loudspeakers
in the right positions was a challenge for us. Of
course the locations had been pinpointed by
the consultants in their designs. But getting
the loudspeakers to the positions on the roof
was not easy. Specialised equipment and trained
staff were required to accomplish this. In
the end the job was completed
without any issues.”
Processing for the audio system is handled
by a BSS Blu-100 and a BSS Blu-50 DSP. Two
Crown DCi/600N, two DCi/1250N and a single
DSi/2000 are deployed to provide ampliï¬cation
for the sound system.
Audio input is captured with the help of two
Shure SM58 handheld microphones and four
Shure antenna ampliï¬ers.
Looking back at the project, Kerdpimon
summarises: “At Mahajak, we have the
experience and the history to deliver stadium
projects. We know the equipment and systems
required and we have the
expertise to deploy them. Our
experience deï¬nitely helped us
deliver Ratchaburi Provincial
Stadium.”
To conclude, he says: “We
would obviously like to do
more stadium projects but
this sector is dependent on
government investment. So
we will have to wait and see
how the sector progresses.”