Specifications

I Q N E T W O R K
• 61
IQ NETWORK
`STADIUM SOUND
After considering several options for location, the
city of Chicago determined it wanted to keep the
team in the heart of the city and launched a proj-
ect to renovate the existing facility as part of a
larger Lakefront Improvement Plan for the imme-
diate area. The high-tech outdoor stadium design
retains much of the old architectural charm that
distinguished it through the years, yet incorpo-
rates modern stadium design elements intended
to position it as a world-class sporting venue.
Key among those elements is the high-perform-
ance audio system. The system had to meet the
performance goals set forth early in the planning
stages for the stadium while accommodating the
architect’s aesthetic concerns. This meant, in
part, creating many cus-
tom loudspeaker enclo-
sures. It was immediate-
ly apparent to the capac-
ity crowd during pre-
game opening festivities
that the total experience
of attending a Bears
home game from now
on will include rocking,
high-energy sound.
The design and consult-
ing firm Wrightson, Johnson, Haddon &
Williams, Inc.(WJHW) of Dallas provided system
design, with Kevin Day of WJHW providing
sound system design and Jack Wrightson han-
dling project management duties. System instal-
lation was completed by SPL Integrated
Solutions (SPL), with Don Alberg serving as
Project Engineer based in Baltimore, and LD
Parker as Site Engineer / Superintendent, Skip
Warrington as Project Manager, and Jim
Mascenic as Site Manager, based out of SPL
Chicago.
The game announcer uses a Crown CM-311AHS
headset microphone, with Crown’s patented
Differoid® noise-canceling response. This ver-
sion of the CM-311A is designed to be mounted
on headphones for broadcaster use. The mic sig-
nal is fed to a Soundcraft K2 console, then to a
dbx 160A compressor. Soundweb™ products by
BSS Audio are used for signal distribution and
processing. The hybrid point-source / distributed
loudspeaker design for the facility implements
three huge clusters, positioned along the top of
the west end of the seating bowl, firing across
the field to the other side. To provide a sense of
scale, a set of 4 JBL Vertec 4889s are used as the
near fill system. JBL Control Contractor series
loudspeakers are used for distributed sound in
ancillary zones and JBL custom speakers were
designed for under-balcony. 178 CTs Series two-
channel amplifiers fitted with IQ-PIP-USP3 mod-
ules power the entire stadium, ranging from the
suites to the main clusters. The IQ-PIP-USP3
modules add an enormous amount of signal pro-
cessing, control, and metering to the CTs ampli-
fiers in addition to advanced error reporting and
load monitoring capabilities.
The amplifiers were installed into
seven different rack rooms with two
dedicated to the clusters. A Fast
Ethernet network was installed with
Fiber optic cable for transporting the
IQ Network communications
between rack rooms and central con-
trol. Once the hardware was installed
in the racks and the cable-plant was
in place, making system connections
was as simple as clicking a single
RJ-45 connector into each compo-
nent. This allowed the installation to
be completed in a short time, and with very little
difficulty.
The Soldier Field IQ Network actively monitors
the operation of the system, and detects potential
problems before they have the opportunity to
evolve into real ones. For instance, if a particular
amplifier channel or loudspeaker driver starts to
operate outside of a specified tolerance range,
the computer will immediately display an error
message alerting the tech staff of the anomaly. In
providing an “early warning,” potential problems
can very likely be resolved prior to triggering
customer complaints or, worse yet, catastrophic
and costly damage to audio equipment. Bradford
Benn, US Business Development Manager for
Installed Sound at Crown commented about the
IQ Network, “The fact that our IQ Network works
on common Ethernet networking technology was
a real benefit for this project. When it was time
for SPL to do the installation, they didn’t have to
worry about a lot of special considerations to
make the network function. Common networking
design and practice is all that is required to get
up and running.”
Monster sound system
installed at the new
home of the “Monsters
of the Midway”
S
oldier Field, the home of Chicago’s storied NFL
football team the Chicago Bears, recently
reopened after undergoing a massive renovation.
The venerable old stadium, originally opened in
1924, had been the home field of the oldest team
in the league for over 30 years. Though incremen-
tal refurbishments over the years extended the life
of the facility, the team needed a new stadium on
a par with other new facilities being built for NFL
teams.