The Royal Commonwealth Pool in Glasgow has had an audio upgrade as part of a £37m renovation. Audio Light Systems was selected to deliver an audio system that could handle the acoustic challenges of the space and specified a system that utilised the digital beam steering capabilities of Tannoy’s QFlex range.
Steve Aitchison, project engineer for Audio Light Systems, said: "The original design put forward was for a series of large speakers pointing downwards. But this type of system design was what they had there before, and it caused some problems with intelligibility due to the reflective nature of the space."
The pool area is a large, almost cavernous space, complete with high Iroko ceilings and lots of reflective surfaces such as ceramic tiles and glass. There is also a seating area, which accommodates hundreds of spectators for specific events, and a new diving board configuration.
Two QFlex 48s close coupled facing 90 degrees from each other were mounted 6m high. The two units were able to provide total coverage.
"There’s a portable PA system they wanted for events," Aitchison said. "This has three plug in points around the pool, and they are routed directly to the QFlex system. So if they have a race on, they can have someone doing announcements and commentary, which is ideal."
The technology within QFlex means the system is able to achieve even, full-range coverage and SPL which is maintained across the listening plane, and is able to create an asymmetrical pattern to allow similar SPLs both in the near and far field. It can steer focused beams of acoustic energy to frequencies beyond 12kHz, which makes it suitable for full-range musical material as well as spoken word.
"There’s a portable PA system they wanted for events," Steve said. "This has three plug in points around the pool, and they are routed directly to the QFlex system. So if they have a race on, they can have someone doing announcements and commentary, which is ideal."