Kinoton Korea recently equipped Incheon SK Happy Dream Stadium with a complete networked sound reinforcement system by Harman Professional Solutions.
Built in 2001, SK Happy Dream Stadium plays host to home games by SK Wyverns, a professional baseball team based in Incheon, South Korea. As part of a continuous effort to improve the stadium, which seats 25,000 fans, the stadium recently decided to upgrade its aging sound system. In order to provide fans with a rich audio experience with superior coverage and intelligibility, SK Wyverns hired local audio integrator Kinoton Korea to design and install a premium sound reinforcement system. Kinoton Korea selected a complete Harman networked audio solution for its industry-leading sound quality and reliable performance.
“The stadium owners love the new Harman system—the improved audio coverage really enhances the fans’ experiences during games,” said Cheol Yoon, VP, Kinoton Korea Inc. “South Korea experiences a wide variety of weather as the seasons change, so it was critical that all stadium speakers be weather-proof. The ability to utilise weather-resistant JBL speakers enabled us to provide SK Happy Dream Stadium with a high quality sound reinforcement system that is perfectly suited to the dynamic South Korean climate.”
The Harman system features a range of weather-resistant JBL Professional speakers distributed throughout the stadium, including 54 AM7215/95 WRX, 16 AW595, nine ASB7128 WRX, 37 AC26 WRX, 39 Control 26CT and 15 Control 25AV speakers, the entire speaker system is powered by Crown DriveCore Install Series amplifiers. In the control room, microphone and playback signals are mixed using a Soundcraft Vi1 Series mixer, while two JBL LSR305 speakers provide accurate monitoring.
Kinoton designed the entire system around a BSS Soundweb London BLU-800 signal processor and two BLU-320 expanders, providing the foundation of the custom Harman solution. Additionally, six Soundweb London BLU-BOB2 break-out boxes each offer eight channels of analog audio output expansion via the high bandwidth, fault tolerant digital audio bus. Finally, six BSS MC-1 fibre optic media converters provide signal transport over extremely long distances (up to 6.2 miles) using a single cable. MC-1 devices utilise automatic link restoration which re-establishes network links between two devices when any Soundweb London device is disconnected or restarted.
“The BLU Link connectivity helped us ensure clean digital connections between the processors and amplifiers,” continued Cheol “The MC-1 was also critical for successful transmission over the necessary distances. The main broadcasting room was in a completely different space than the amplifier racks, so we used optical cables for transmission. The BSS Soundweb London system was the perfect choice in this scenario.”
“At Harman Professional Solutions, we understand the excitement that fans feel during baseball games,” said Ramesh Jayaraman, VP & GM, HARMAN Professional Solutions, APAC. “We are pleased that our solutions help keep the momentum at SK Wyverns’ games at a high level. We thank Kinoton Korea for their expertise and excellent customer service, and for their faith in utilising Harman products to satisfy their clients’ expectations.”
