Intellivox provides cost-saving for Auckland Airport
Published: ASIA
NEW ZEALAND: Following the first stage completion of Auckland International Airport’s new baggage hall, systems integrator Bartons Sound Systems has installed JBL Intellivox DC280 steerable loudspeakers throughout the 91m-long extension. The speakers aim to deliver intelligible sound with enough volume to overcome the ambient noise level of the busy hall, while providing a cost saving over a traditional, distributed system.
‘Until this project, nearly all of the PA loudspeakers used at Auckland International Airport were ceiling speakers or old-style PA horns for exterior areas,’ said Rob Waddell of Bartons Sound Systems. ‘Aside from the fact that we wanted to install something much better, the open-ceiling arrangement of the new baggage area precluded the use of ceiling speakers.’
The DC280 speakers installed also benefit from a built-in ambient noise sensing system that further removed the need for additional microphones and cabling. Additionally, before construction even started the architectural plans predicted that the space would be highly reverberant, and what’s more, the degree of absorbency of the ceiling baffles that would be installed to control reverberation was unknown. All these factors reportedly led to the selection of a beam-steering loudspeaker.
Acoustic modelling was used to determine the need for two DC280 loudspeakers installed vertically along the wall where the baggage belt is located. ‘Because the DC280 is only 5.3-inches wide, you really have to look hard to realise the speakers are even there,’ Mr Waddell noted.
The success of the two speakers installed during stage one of the project has reportedly led Mr Waddell to specify two more DC280s for the next stage in September. ‘On paper they’re a clever solution – but when you actually hear the speaker performing so brilliantly in this type of environment you really appreciate just how well-suited they are to this type of application,’ he added.