June 7, 2010
TALLADEGA, AL—It came down to a
sound test at the famed Talladega
Superspeedway. The demo pitted
Community Professional Loudspeakers’
R-Series—temporarily mounted
on poles—against the racetrack’s
previously installed loudspeakers,
attached to the wheel fence.
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The lower grandstand features 101
Community R.5HPT loudspeakers and
50 R.5-SUB subwoofers on 12-foot high
poles behind the wheel fence, creating a
better and safer fan atmosphere.
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The demo was held in September
2009, and left quite an impression,
according to Chris Ogles of Sound
Solutions in Oxford, AL. “It made
such an impact that the president of
the speedway came to us right there
on the spot during the demo and
asked us, ‘Can we have this by the
race in November?’”
By the time Talladega hosted
NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series on
November 1, 2009, the lower grandstand
featured 101 Community
R.5HPT loudspeakers and 50 R.5-
SUB subwoofers. The new sound
system also includes a dbx DriveRack
260 to handle processing. That
component feeds 13 QSC ISA 1350
amplifiers for power.
Talladega is not alone. All across
America racetracks are upping their
game in the sound department. The
loudspeaker horns commonly used
at racetracks worked fine in the past,
but NASCAR races have evolved to
include events beyond what happens
on the track. Racing venues now have
top national musical acts performing
before the cars take center stage. The
R-Series stands out during these prerace
concerts, taking the fan experience
to the next level.
“For the paying fan who’s attending
not just for the race, but the full
race day experience, there’s really
no comparison between older horn
technology and true full-range outdoor
loudspeaker technology. No
comparison,” said Ogles, who has
served on Talladega’s track AV crew
for five years. He explained that the
bandwidth of horn loudspeakers usually
offers nothing below 300 Hz or
above 4000 Hz. That prevents the
crowd from hearing key elements like
the bass drum and bass guitar during
a pre-race concert. Conversely,
the three-way R.5HPT is a full-range
product that delivers to fans the audio
quality of a true concert system.
When Talladega was redoing its
wheel fence, they elected to move the
loudspeakers as well. The previous
loudspeakers were mounted on the
fence, obscuring the view of some
spectators, and posed a safety risk if
a car crashed into it. The installation
team mounted the new loudspeakers
on 12-foot high poles behind
the wheel fence, creating a better
and safer fan atmosphere. And the
weather-resistant R.5HPT’s compact
16- by 16-inch dimensions, don’t
block sight lines.
The install crew from Sound Solutions
completed the project in less
than five weeks. Headed by Joey
Hutto, the massive project required
mounting all 151 speakers, 151
weatherproof junction boxes, and
running thousands of feet of new
four-conductor speaker wire. The
seating area covered can accommodate
more than 50,000 spectators
and runs nearly a mile along the
2.66-mile track.
The application presented some
challenges for the installation team
as well, including the sheer size of
the project. The crew also designed
the system so that a problem with
one amplifier would not take out an
entire section. “Another challenge
was getting the layout correct so that
there was redundancy and it wouldn’t
be a total wash if something went
down,” said Ogles.
The new sound system has made a
night and day difference at Talladega,
according to Ogles. The R.5HPT
loudspeaker, featuring Community’s
M200 midrange driver, is extremely
powerful and brings racing fans excellent
voice clarity during the race.
This is vital since Talladega plays the
live radio broadcast from the Motor
Racing Network through its public
address system. The roaring engines
and crowd noise make for a challenging
sound environment, but the new
system has provided the ideal solution.
“There’s never been anything
close to what they have now since
I’ve been there. Even in the suites or
anywhere else, nothing compares,”
said Ogles.
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