Hurrairah bin Sohail speaks with Fuzion Far East about how Nonthaburi Gymnasium Stadium, Thailand was fitted out with effective audio, video, and control solutions.
Nonthaburi Gymnasium Stadium is a 4,000-seat indoor arena designed to host a wide variety of activities, comprising live concerts and sporting events including futsal.
Nonthaburi Provincial Administrative Organisation was responsible for ensuring the space functioned as intended and had an expansive vision. As well as supporting the artistic, cultural, and educational communities, the stadium would also need to support futsal competitions up to the ASEAN league level. The task of providing Nonthaburi Gymnasium Stadium with the requisite AV technology fell to Fuzion Far East.
Siri Wongkamolchun, director at Fuzion Far East, begins the story of how the work commenced: “The project started approximately a year ago and the client was looking for recommendations on what kind of technology the space would need. They started with the intent to have a consultant on board to guide them, but as the project progressed and the conversations with Fuzion Far East went ahead it transformed into a design and build. They made the decision based on their experience, the references we provided for our work, and the confidence we were able to inspire in the initial stages of the project.”
Siri sheds further light on the requirements of the client: “This is a completely new system, and the gymnasium was finished just last year. From the start, it was conceived as a space not just meant for sports but for everything from performances to events. This meant that the system had to be very flexible, and the users needed a way to ensure that the technology could be easily shifted to meet the diverse needs of the events. When it came to audio, they wanted the capability to mute the audio and control it, for the sound to be clear and have no feedback. And they wanted the ability to monitor the technology remotely. We took all of this into consideration when designing the solution.”
When it comes to visuals, there are three LED videowalls in the gymnasium. The largest, which serves as the main screen, measures 5m by 10m and the LED tiles have a pixel pitch of 2.5mm. Two smaller 3m-by-3m LED videowalls augment visuals for the space. Novastar processors power these LED displays while Blustream products are used for video signal transmission. The multi-view capabilities are delivered by Vaddio PCC matrix controller and Vaddio PCC Premier.
Regarding the decision over signal transmission, Siri details: “AV over IP was not needed for the gymnasium because we didn’t need to have the content be available across the different parts. But we did need to manage the long distances for the signals to travel. For this purpose, we thought HDBaseT would be best, and it worked like a charm.”
Shifting to the audio system, Siri says: “The challenge for a stadium is always the acoustics. It is one of the most important things to get right. Our approach to ensuring great audio was to have a main cluster of line array speakers from Nexo. We used Nexo simulation to make sure that the placement of the speakers was perfect for what we wanted to achieve. And in addition, we designed a secondary audio system built around pointsource speakers which comprises another 16 boxes of the ePS10.”
Specifically, Nexo Geo M loudspeaker arrays in an L-R configuration serve as the main PA. These combine six M1210 12-in elements with two M1220 downfills in each stack. The lower frequencies are supplemented by four MSUB18 subwoofers per side, suspended as adjacent L-R arrays. During major futsal competitions, a preset focuses the main L-R Nexo Geo M12 arrays toward the audience. For smaller events, a distributed network of Nexo ePS10 10-in enclosures covers the main seated areas. All 20 cabinets are suspended from an overhead framework grid and were primarily specified for speech intelligibility and minimal reverberation.
To ensure that the designed audio system performed to the required levels, Fuzion Far East extended the hand of collaboration. Siri says: “We worked with the other vendors and the gymnasium and were able to secure all the spots for our speakers, so the outcome is spectacular.”
A Symetrix DSP is used to manage the audio system and Siri details: “Tuning was an important factor to make sure we got the acoustics right. We measured all the frequencies, and the responses, and worked on the EQ. We had to make sure that the JTS microphones were properly deployed, and the feedback was managed. This was all done and achieved through the Symetrix DSP.”
LEA Connect series 1504 amplifiers are used to power the main and distributed loudspeaker systems. These are located in a rack installed on an overhead catwalk between the main audience section.
Siri says: “LEA amplifiers are probably one of the only brands that can provide monitoring and control via the cloud. It does not require any additional equipment to be deployed, which makes it convenient for the end user because we, as solution providers, can deliver everything in one package. The user can just log in and check the monitoring and have this customised to their liking.”
In the control room of the gymnasium, Genelec speakers provide sound while a Digico mixer has also been supplied. RTI systems are used to provide control. Siri says: “The gymnasium really wanted a simple to use system and this is done with the help of RTI. We’ve programmed simple presets for the user to operate the audio and video systems and help these cater to the different events that are happening in the space.”
Regarding the challenges faced during the course of the project, Siri says: “As with many AV projects, this one was also delayed and had time constraints due to the delays on the side of other contractors. This is very usual in our field, and we managed it as best as we could while making sure that we met our deadlines and achieved the outcomes the client wanted.”
Siri concludes: “The client is super happy with the technology systems, and the gymnasium is operational and has been hosting events. The Fuzion Far East team has been supporting them with our staff being present for these events and helping with the operation of technology systems. The client is also in talks with us to standardise their equipment in similar ways to Nonthaburi Gymnasium Stadium across their other facilities.”