DAT picks Powersoft for Nordic World Ski Championships

Scandinavian production company DAT AB, working in conjunction with Ljudteknik AB, was recently tasked with providing sound reinforcement for the 2015 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Falun, Sweden.

A number of sound companies were involved but DAT AB, as well as Ljudteknik’s Bengt Norling, faced arguably the biggest challenge, as they were tasked with handling the entire arena itself, including the Big Jump, Cross Country and competitors’ relaxation and training areas – but with limited prep time.

Powersoft K3 and K20 AES DSP amplifiers were largely deployed by DAT AB, while Ljudteknik also fielded its own K3s, as other amps that DAT had considered using in advance of the event failed to pass the test.

According to DAT’s project manager, Robert Nilsson, it has been 22 years since the World finals were last held at the site and he was also part of the sound team on that occasion. But since then the event and its sound system requirements have grown considerably, with 320,000 people now attending this year – around 35,000 per day. 

And although a delay from the stand supplier meant that the loudspeakers couldn’t be mounted until 8pm the night before first race, the whole system was up and running three hours before the start with the presets in all the Powersoft amps loaded into the proprietary Armonía software.

“We then decided on a small adjustment, creating a new preset which we were able to run via computer to all the Powersoft amps. This resulted in an excellent sound and we were able to make further adjustments throughout the event. Armonía helped us tremendously in saving time and optimising the system.”

The crew placed Renkus-Heinz CT and PN series speakers around the track, while a Nexo line array solution was used at the end of the Big Jump area, and for five positions on the track. Clio software was used for impedance measurement, and EASERA Pro for time and frequency analysis.

Robert Nilsson has been working with Powersoft products since 2011 when he did the sound installation at Stockholm Stadium (the former Olympia Stadium) with 22 K3s and a K6 AES DSP amplifier. For the event in Falun he says he received great support from Matte Matsson at Benum, Powersoft’s new Swedish distributor.

The Powersoft ‘engine room’ reached around 105 dB at the public stage, Nilsson reported. “These amplifiers are trustworthy and reliable – the weight and rack space are impressive and they have tremendous power. It is also a flexible amplifier, unlike those dedicated to specific speakers.”

Picture credit: Robert RydÇn

www.powersoft-audio.com