The latest to install the specially-designed weather-proofed cabinets is West Bromwich Albion FC. Argus has added seven AM15 cabinets to the main stand at West Brom's Hawthorns stadium. Jerry Matthews of Argus explains that "it's a deep tiered stand, and, although there was already a single row of speakers at the front, the further you went up the rows, the less you could hear. We've had to mount a row of Martin Audio AM15s about 25ft up the stand, just about where the directors sit!" All the AM15's have been suspended on custom-built brackets. "These enable us to do everything from the roof; once the speakers are in place, about 40ft above the crowd, we don't need to gain access from below."
Argus has equipped Walsall FC and Birmingham City FC with Martin Audio AM Stadium systems, and is currently working with Aston Villa FC on the first phase of an upgrade at Villa Park. Once again, the AM Series loudspeakers feature prominently, with 10 AM15s being installed into the first of the stands to be refurbished. "We've tried other makes of cabinets, but the Martin Audio boxes just deliver what they say they're going to deliver," says Jerry Matthews.
The AM Series includes 10", 12" and 15" full-range cabinets, which can also be supplied in 100V line format. These enclosures have a high density polyurethane coating applied both internally and externally, together with a galvanised steel grille and integral water barrier to ensure product reliability over many years. Large-format AM horns are also available for larger stadia, and have already been installed at Leeds United FC. Matthews says: "These cabinets conform to BS5839, which sets out the voice evac system standards, and they really are fully weatherproofed. But they also deliver excellent performance audio-wise: we've compared them to older systems running flat out, and the Martin AM boxes only need to be ticking over - they really are efficient cabinets."
(Lee Baldock)
