CityCenter also deploys fully networked AV technology on an unprecedented scale, with the core network technologies for audio systems - as well as the lion's share of all connected audio equipment - supplied by the Harman Professional Group.
"This is rumored to be the largest consolidated AV system design in history," reports Darren Smith, who has lived and breathed CityCenter for three years, first at senior designer for PMK Consultants, and later in a parallel role with Technology West Group, one of three principal AV contractors. "We estimated the cost at over $100 million for the PMK-designed portion alone. That included 60 venues, thousands of ceiling speakers, several complete concert line array systems, more than 20 equipment rooms, hundreds of input-output panels, thousands of fibre optic runs, and the list goes on."
In every structure across the campus, the predominant audio equipment manufacturers in nearly all audio categories were companies of the Harman Professional Group. Jim Bowles, manufacturers representative for sound marketing in Las Vegas estimated component quantities installed into the complex to be 750 BSS London networked DSP units, 700 networked Crown amplifiers, and more than 5300 JBL loudspeakers.
A keystone component found throughout the complex is the BSS Soundweb London BLU-800, which offers prodigious digital signal processing power as well as connectivity to both CobraNet audio networking and Soundweb's own propriety BLU-Link bus.
"The BSS BLU-Link alone was a lifesaver on this project," acknowledges designer Darren Smith. "Overall, the Harman solution offered the only option to satisfy my vision and the extreme requirements. The size of the project dictated equipment rooms spread out over the campus, and we needed complete interconnection and routing ability for any and all sources. We could not come up with a viable solution using any other platform."
(Jim Evans)
