EXPO ARENA MATSURI OPTS FOR WAVEFRONT PRECISION FOR QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE
The Osaka-Kansai Expo is an international exposition which is taking place in Japan for the first time in 20 years. Lasting for six months (until October), the Japan World Exposition (to give the convention its formal name) is an international event that promotes new technologies, fosters exchange between nations and cultures and addresses global challenges.
These large-scale World Expos are held every five years, each time hosted by a different country with a unique theme (this year’s being Designing Future Society for Our Lives).
One of the main venues, EXPO Arena Matsuri, is the largest outdoor event venue at the Expo, with a capacity of approximately 16,000 people. Inside the venue, which is covered with bright green artificial turf, a large landscape screen measuring 8m x 15m installed at the front, and live performances by various artists are held every day.
The main PA system is Martin Audio's Wavefront Precision WPL. This achieves both accurate coverage and powerful sound pressure for the vast arena space.
“And the sound really does disappear from the area where the attenuation is set."
The subwoofers comprise SXH218, while on infill and lipfill duties are Martin Audio’s WPS; the side fills comprise WPS paired with SXCF118 cardioid subwoofers, and the stage monitors are XE300—providing an advanced monitoring environment for the artists.
Meanwhile, Martin Audio's unique optimisation software creates a soundfield that also solves any noise problems and prevents sound escape.
System Engineering Co., Ltd. were involved in the design and construction of the system and the deployment received a resounding thumbs-up from Mr. Goto (Sales), Mr. Kawachi (Sales technology), Mr. Yamochi (Design), and Mr. Hashimoto (Construction management).
“We have often used Martin Audio in the past in situations where we wanted to produce good sound but also keep it cost effective," they said. “Also, we were familiar with their sound, having heard it many times at auditioning sessions, so we had a sense of trust.”
For this Expo, they again needed to prioritise sound quality and performance, as well as cost benefits. “So we chose Martin Audio as our preferred solution for those reasons. The acoustic simulation provided when proposing this to the association was also very speedy, so we were able to submit it with confidence.
In terms of functionality, the ability to finely adjust the directivity was a big plus, the System Engineering Co. team confirmed. “And the sound really does disappear from the area where the attenuation is set. The moment you leave the venue, it feels like the sound has disappeared entirely.
“Despite this being such a large-scale system, there were no major issues, and we were told it sounded great.”