Some indication of the scale and importance of the event is given by the official figures: 12,000 athletes from 170 countries are scheduled to compete in 26 sporting disciplines spread between 64 different venues. As well as the many millions around the world following the event on television, around 100,000 sporting enthusiasts are expected to visit the Russian metropolis at the time of the event.
Preparations in Kazan are already in full swing for the high-calibre event. The venue for the swimming competitions, for example, which was specially built for the Universiade, was officially opened at the end of 2010. Equipped to the highest international standards, it offers seats for 800 spectators.
The organisers attached great importance to the quality of the sound system, since, in addition to background music, it will be used during the competition to provide results and commentary - including split times, which contribute significantly to the interest and excitement of races. Intelligibility was therefore crucially important in this challenging acoustic environment. But for Ruton S, the company charged with audio production for the event, reflections from tiles and other hard surfaces were by no means the only issue to address. "The budget was also relatively tight," says Gregory Ronin, general manager of Ruton S, "though compromises in terms of quality were out of the question."
The system the Ruton S team deployed satisfied the organisers' requirements in every respect, comprising 14 Sx300PIX loudspeakers, CPS 4.10 and CPS 4.5 power amplifiers, an easy-to-operate N8000 digital matrix controller and two REV wireless microphone systems - all from Electro-Voice.
"The customer was totally satisfied," reports Ronin, "The system proved capable of coping with the long reverberation time in the venue while also providing a very high degree of intelligibility with high sound pressure levels. What's more, we were able to deliver the entire installation within the stipulated budget."
(Jim Evans)
