As the list of operational demands placed on a sports stadium sound system becomes ever more sophisticated, we talked to one of the most experienced specialists in the business about the role of the audio consultant in ensuring a successful installation.

A user of NEXO products for almost 4 decades, Richard Northwood runs RH Consulting based in southeast England with partner Roland Hemming. The company has a customer base of major sports venues that retain its services to advise on audio technology, and also consults on a project-by-project basis, most often around the installation of a new system.

“Our role varies from job to job, but typically we’re there to provide a guide to getting the best value for money result given the client’s needs and budget, and the statutory requirements” says Richard.

“We’ll often be involved in creating the system design which then goes out to tender. Then we’ll provide oversight of the installation, followed by final commissioning and licencing. Or if there’s an incumbent integrator, we can offer some additional support for instance in ensuring standards-compliance, an area in which we have a great deal of knowledge and experience.”

Indeed, Hemming and Northwood have literally written the book ‘A Guide to Voice Alarm Systems’. Aimed at design consultants, equipment manufacturers, system installers, venue owners and others buying emergency audio systems, it’s packed with information, diagrams, tables and animations to help people understand what can be a complex subject.

Furthermore, the company has helped develop two versions of British Standard BS7827 for designing, specifying, maintaining and operating emergency sound systems for sports grounds, large public buildings, and venues. Roland chairs the British Standards Institute for all the audio committees and sits on their behalf for European standards such as EN54.

With a modern stadium sound system required to perform the combined roles of voice alarm and entertainment, consultants are available to help stadium operators see how the cost of a new system required to achieve standards-compliance can often be covered by expanding revenue opportunities on the entertainment side.

“Advertising content on stadium screens is clearly more impactful when accompanied by high quality audio, and more controllable sound enables multiple additional events like conferences and meetings to be held simultaneously” continues Richard.

“And with more directional sound comes the opportunity for venues to gain licencing for a greater number of ‘non-sporting’ events, as the noise impact on neighbours can be more effectively managed.

“A good consultant can show clients how systems can be prepared for further expansion in the future, often for a relatively small outlay in additional cabling and network infrastructure at the time of the main installation.”

With 20 years’ experience in networked audio, the RH Consulting team is among the most qualified in the UK with Level 3 Dante certification and ANEMAN approval, alongside experience with RAVENNA and AES67. Helping to show industry trends, the company produces an annual report into networked AV products which this year includes a total of 6,013 networked AV devices currently shipping from 602 brands.

As much as the entertainment side of stadium sound has evolved quickly in recent years, so have the requirements for voice alarm and evacuation.

“It’s not just about fire anymore, with new threats such as terrorism and a growing requirement to improve crowd control through providing clear information and directions in the areas immediately outside the stadium as well as in it.

“Most of the systems installed today are designed for entertainment first and foremost, so often require some modification for voice alarm compliance – not so much the speakers, but the architecture driving them.

“For instance, amplifier circuits have to be interleaved so if one cluster fails, the cluster immediately adjacent to it must remain operational, so it can’t be on separate channels of the same amplifier. The consultant’s job is to achieve the required level of redundancy as cost-effectively as possible and document what can be some fairly complex wiring clearly so integrators can follow them.”

Richard got his start in theatre sound more than 40 years ago before going on to specialise in sound for sports venues and stadiums. In conclusion, we asked him about the changes he’s seen in the industry over the years.

“For many years now, we’ve consulted on sound for Lords Cricket Ground in London. If you’d have told me even 10 years ago that a sound system for a cricket ground would need more than 400 outputs, I’d have laughed. But that’s where we are now.”

For further information on RH Consulting, visit: rhconsulting.uk