Sound Skating Cracovia is a multi-functional PA/VA system. The commentator's room houses a Dynacord CMS 1000-2 mixer and the system's Dynacord DSP244 digital processor. This feeds to the amplification room which houses the heart of the system, the Swiss g+m elektronik APROSYS APS modular system. In addition to the priority task of efficient evacuation during an emergency, the sound system is also used for commercial purposes at sporting events.
"Due to the difficult acoustics and harsh climatic conditions in the ice hall, the choice of loudspeakers was fundamental to the system's performance and long-term reliability," said Marcin Zimny of Tommex. The ice surface at Cracovia is 28 x 58m, and the grandstand accommodates more than 2,500 seated spectators.
"With the ice and a lot of other reflective metal surfaces to be avoided, the dispersion of the loudspeakers was very important to minimize negative reflection effects and the long reverberation times of the hall," continued Zimny. "Based on experience, we chose Community WET and R-Series loudspeakers for their well-defined coverage angles and extreme all-weather durability."
Tommex deployed 10 Community R.5's to cover the grandstand side and nine R.5's for the main grandstand. Additionally, four WET W2-2W8T's loudspeakers cover the tribune commentator area and two R.5's and two WET W2-228's provide performance music for the system rink.
"Despite being a difficult environment, Community again provided the ideal solution and the system delivers excellent quality and intelligibility for entertainment, public address and voice evacuation," concluded Zimny.
(Jim Evans)
