Electro-Voice braves ?Hell Down South?

November 2011 saw off-road running challenge Hell Down South look to Electro-Voice for sound reinforcement solutions, with Show Hire supplying a number of ZX1 loudspeakers and P2400T power amps for the Hampshire event.

As part of the Brooks HellRunner series, Hell Down South is an off-road running event that takes around 6,500 competitors to the Longmoor Military Training Camp near Bordon in Hampshire, England, to brave over ten miles of inhospitable conditions. The event also drew a sell-out crowd of 5,000 spectators to support those competing.

However, the difficult nature of the conditions proved equally challenging for the loudspeakers and power amps deployed by Milford, Surrey-based public address and communication hire specialists Show Hire. "The area to be covered is very, very extensive," explained managing director Nick Chubb. “The weather here in November is anything but equipment friendly."

This year the Show Hire team opted once again for Electro-Voice systems in the Runners’ Village, where the start and finish lines, commentary booths, and refreshment tents are located, with weather-proofed compact ZX1i loudspeakers being specified for the task. "I love these systems," affirmed Chubb. "They deliver very high quality sound over long distances, weigh very little, and are completely weather-proof." The speakers were driven by Electro-Voice P2400T amplifiers.

Chubb was also keen to point out that this was not the first time that the company had achieved impressive results with both the ZX1i loudspeakers and the P2400T amplifiers. He concluded: "When the weather’s lousy and the athletes are slogging through freezing mud one moment and being assailed by fire and smoke the next, plying them with up-beat music and rousing commentary is extremely important. Our motivation is completely aligned with the competitors’: we set out to carry them from gun to tape – not bodily, of course, but in spirit – and I’m pleased to say we were successful in doing so."