Home to NHL Jets Knocks One In With Sound Art and Yamaha CL5

The MTS Centre (Winnipeg, Manitoba) recently installed a Yamaha CL5 Digital Audio Console along with two Rio1608-D input/output boxes courtesy of Sound Art Winnipeg Inc. Home to NHL’s Winnipeg Jets, the Centre seats over 15,000 and plays host to a multitude of indoor sporting and entertainment events.

Sound Art is a premier international professional sound rental company offering clients complete and comprehensive audio production services. With offices in Calgary, Winnipeg, and Toronto, they provide state-of the-art audio equipment for rental and installations.

The Yamaha CL5 is used primarily for Jets game production and was chosen for multiple reasons. “The Centre had reached the capacity of its existing analog console, states Iain Graham, Technical Projects Manager for Sound Art. There were serious issues with sub-mixes for the concourse, etc. being altered between hockey games and not being reset. The ability to have a digital signal path from the control room located in the loading dock area, to the press box production booth, was essential.”

Graham also said in addition to the creation of a digital signal path, it was essential that the Centre be able to use all of the analog ‘trunking’ from the original install. “Dynamics on every channel was a welcome bonus and custom fader layers allow the engineers for various scenarios to only see the faders they need to see. Of course, the ability to use a redundant power supply tipped the purchasing decision to the Yamaha CL as compared to the competition being looked at during the selection process. The touch screen was also very attractive.”

The Centre has recently started to use the multi-track feature of the CL with Nuendo. “Nuendo enables the technical staff to archive shows and also allows offline troubleshooting if an action during a game needs to be reviewed, says Graham. There are significant fines from the NHL if anything interrupts a game, so staying on top of any potential issue is important.”

The Yamaha CL5 was phase two of the audio installed by Sound Art. Previously, the company upgraded both the bowl and concourse PA systems.

For more information on Sound Art, Inc. visit www.soundart.com.