Allianz Arena - Munich
State-of-the-art sound reinforcement sets the tone

The sound system in a football stadium is of enormous importance. It is used for announcements (such as the presentation of the teams), for any safety or security announcements that need to be made, for canned music and — in the case of the stadiums hosting the upcoming FIFA World Cup — for the national anthems as well. An excellent sound system is therefore indispensable. That’s why the managers of the Allianz Arena, Munich, opted for solutions from EVI Audio.

The stadium’s comprehensive sound system was installed and put into commission by a team from EVI Audio — expertly assisted by specialists from VA TECH ELIN EBG. It provides coverage for the entire stadium, the stands and the playing area using digital, networked signal processors, remote-controlled and -monitored high-powered amplifiers and Electro-Voice loudspeaker systems specially made for the Arena. The sound in the interior of the stadium is delivered by 24 clusters of 6 loudspeakers, plus another 10 mounted singly.

In all, some 154 enclosures are in use in the stadium, including 72 subwoofers equivalent in quality to those used in concert sound. For reasons of fire safety as well as at the request of the architect, all the loudspeakers are housed in colour-matched steel structures mounted at a height of 42 metres, with each of the clusters weighing almost 1 tonne. The power is supplied by remote amplifiers from Electro-Voice with a total output of around 158,000 watts. These are housed in 14 separate control cabinets in the roof of the stadium.

Thanks to their integrated, digital signal processors, the amplifiers can be monitored constantly and their output matched to the loudspeakers and arena. Electro-Voice’s unique system check ensures that the operator knows at all times whether everything is in order and is able to request and obtain within a few minutes detailed information about every single loudspeaker component.

Electro-Voice's IRIS software, with its multi-level password access, offers every user of the system, from the maintenance technician to the sound engineer and system administrator, a tailor-made user interface on a touch TFT screen in the control room.

The stadium’s public address system, covering the myriad of indoor passages, stairwells, boxes, restaurants and car parks, comprises a ProMatrix system from Dynacord using Electro-Voice N8000 signal processors. These areas are served by seven additional amplifier cabinets with a total output of around 129,000 watts This system allows information as well as alarm messages to be directed to specific zones within the stadium and a different programme of background music to be assigned to each zone.

The control rooms for the integrated PA and pro sound systems are linked by a redundant fibre-optic network, which thanks to the quality of the components used and its entangled double-ring topology satisfies the most stringent standards in terms of safety and secure operation.

Acoustic measurements confirm that the Allianz Arena is not only an outstanding stadium from an architectural standpoint but bears comparison acoustically with the finest in the world