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Harman Pro UK at the O2

Harman Pro UK, the Harman Group's distributors and representatives in the UK and Eire, has announced the completion of their multi-million-pound involvement in the design and implementation of the extensive audio systems at the O2, the new East London venue and entertainment complex built by America's Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) within the canopy of the former Millennium Dome.

If you ever visited the underwhelming Dome, don't be put off the O2. Virtually nothing remains from the original site, AEG having built a totally new venue from scratch in the same place in just under two-and-a-half years. It's fair to say that the UK hasn't ever really seen an entertainment complex on this 'American' kind of scale before: the site includes a 20,000-seater stadium, the O2 Arena (which is being used for large-scale live concerts such as this Autumn's run of Prince dates, and will also be hosting Olympic sports in a few years), an 11-screen multiplex Vue cinema, a smaller live music venue/nightclub known as IndigO2 and an extensive district of restaurants, shops and piazzas connected by indoor streets, called the Waterfront — and that's just the half of the venue that's currently open, with more to come. In all of these areas, Harman equipment has formed the basis for the audio systems used, and in many areas the engineers at Harman Pro UK have been instrumental in designing those systems too. Harman's HiQnet control protocol also ties many of the systems together, particularly in the Arena and in the IndigO2 venue.

Even in the cinema, where design of the visual projection equipment was left to NEC, the cinema's sponsors, and the design of the audio systems was given to respected cinema sound expert Max Bell of Bell Theatre Services, the resulting system was very similar to the state-of-the-art system installed last year at the Empire Leicester Square, which featured much Harman equipment. The system in the largest of the 11 auditoriums features JBL 5632 Custom Screen Array speakers, dbx DriveRack speaker management, and Crown I-Tech amplification, while smaller JBL speakers and Crown amplifiers are used in the other ten screens.

At the other end of the scale, Harman Pro UK were directly involved in the design of the audio systems in the IndigO2 venue, with Harman acoustician Tom Williams assisting AEG's Technical Manager Greg Pauker and independent acousticians from Vanguardia Consulting. The finished venue combines products from every Harman brand, including JBL VerTec VT4888 line arrays and 4880A subs, VP7315/64DPAN powered loudspeakers and VRX915M wedges on stage, with AM6200 fill-ins in the furthest corners of the venue, Crown I-Tech and CTS-series amplifiers, and dbx 4800 DriveRacks to handle the system routing and EQ (as well as acting as a system mute if the fire alarm is triggered). There’s a set of BSS gates and compressors, Lexicon PCM81 and PCM91 signal processing, and numerous AKG mics, including WMS4000 wireless systems, clip-on MicroMic brass, drum and headset mics, and the new popular C5 and D5 stage mics. All of the amps and dbx 4800s are controllable via a System Architect-controlled HiQnet network.

The Harman-supplied systems in the O2 Arena are even more heavy-duty, and include one of the largest BSS Soundweb London systems ever built to manage and route the audio passing through the 500,000W PA/Voice Alarm system. A ring of 32 JBL PD5322 speakers dominates the auditorium, supplemented by AM6200 delay speakers to reach the upper seating in the stadium, several VerTec VT4888 line arrays, and 24 ASB6128V subwoofers. Amplification is handled by Crown I-Techs and CTS amps, controlled via HiQnet, and the main Arena control room features a Soundcraft MH2 console supplemented with Lexicon and BSS signal processing.

Harman products are even in evidence in the O2's 'streets'. In the shopping and eating areas of the Waterfront, giant clusters of JBL AM4200 and AM6200 speakers (sealed and 'weatherised' against the elements for use under the O2 canopy) form part of the public address and alarm system, and astonishing numbers of Control Contractor 25AVs are grouped in pairs in the concourses outside the Arena, near to larger 28T60s. Tom Williams, the acoustician at Harman who collaborated with AEG's sub-contractors on much of the design of the audio systems at the O2, sums the project up best: "It’s been a major project for us; Harman equipment has been used almost everywhere in the O2! We’re very proud to have been involved."

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Harman Pro UK at the O2

19th September 2007

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