USA The new Citi Field in Flushing, Queens, home of the New York Mets, has a new sound system. Over 550 EAW MK and AX series boxes fill the bowl of the 42,000-seat stadium, which opened on 13 April, 2009. The systems integrator was TSI Global Companies, LLC, and it was designed by consultants WJHW.

The key element of the massive and complex sound system is a customised version of EAW's full-range AX364-210 Arrayable Install Loudspeakers with 60x40 horn, modified to fire simultaneously forward, down and to the rear. A pair of 10-inch woofers was added to the cabinet, aimed downward to cancel low-frequency buildup in what is, essentially, an architectural bass trap.

Three of these precisely modified enclosures are installed at the clubhouse level, one of the most challenging spaces in a stadium of this design. Other notable aspects of the system include a large number of under-balcony speakers.

The system is delayed vertically through the upper and middle-tier levels, with delays ranging from 35 ms to 95 ms, computed using acclaimed SMAART software. Smaller clusters made up of various combinations of EAW MK5396, MK5364 and MK2396 2-Way Full Range Installation Loudspeaker enclosures serve seats on the field's main level and outfield seating sections.

"This was an immensely complex and challenging system, engineered to accommodate a sophisticated architectural design, and EAW products are at the core of the solution," says Paul Murdick, vice-president of A/V for systems integrator TSI Global. "The modifications that EAW were able to execute on their AX364 enclosure met the specifications laid out by WJHW to a 'T.' As a result, those boxes are key to the overall consistency of the sound throughout the stadium, even in challenging locations."

(Jim Evans)


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