SINGAPORE: Local supplier APG Asia Pte Ltd was recently called upon to provide a pair of SC25 Sector series loudspeakers to help tackle speech intelligibility and sound leakage issues at The Rink.
The Rink is Singapore’s first and only Olympic-size ice skating rink, hosting events and activities such as recreational ice skating, and international tournaments in ice hockey, figure skating, speed skating, and ice curling. This is the result of collaboration between Singapore Sports Council and CapitaMalls Asia Limited, under the Community/Sports Facilities scheme and guidelines, to encourage the integration of community or sports facilities in private commercial developments for mutual benefit. As part of the scheme, The Rink best serves the interests of the general public based on its non-profit operating model, whereby all revenue generated will be re-invested into the operational and programming aspects of the facility. (Excerpt from http://www.sportsingapore.gov.sg/newsroom/media-releases/2012/4/greater-opportunities-for-the-community-to-play-sports-on-ice)
Being housed in the heart of a shopping mall, The Rink presents itself as a tough acoustical challenge for any audio reinforcement. I think APG offers a well-designed solution to balance the fine line between audio reinforcement within the rink and noise control spills to adjacent retails and restaurants.
We had explored various options to achieve decent speech intelligibility from the existing system, and each attempt ended in distortions and frustrations. This prompted us to search beyond conventional loudspeaker systems and APG’s SC25 seemed natural. We immediately arranged for a demonstration session and thankfully it ended our search.
The system design from APG not only provided excellent speech intelligibility, and also good energy to liven the atmosphere during sports events. We can instantly recognise the huge value-add for The Rink with the improved bass response to cater to private events and expand towards ‘disco’ theme, especially during public holidays. When on ice, one feels as though we are ‘wearing headphones’! The newfound clarity in our background music puts smiles on our skaters and definitely enhanced the skating experience. A quick survey with adjacent retail shops and restaurants assured that they are surprisingly not affected by the sound pressure level. We can now enjoy the music, and have happy skaters and surrounding tenants at the same time!