A new category of Constellation has emerged; one that doesn’t just shape the room, but connects the crowd. John Pellowe outlines how Meyer Sound redefined what’s possible in one of Europe’s most iconic venues.
When the puck dropped at the 2025 IIHF World Championship in Stockholm’s Avicii Arena, it wasn’t just the players who were performing. Suspended high above the ice, 84 Meyer Sound loudspeakers and 72 microphones quietly went to work, redistributing the roar of 14,000 fans in real time. For those in the crowd, it wasn’t immediately obvious what had changed, only that the game felt closer, the atmosphere more alive, the cheers more contagious. That’s exactly how Meyer Sound wanted it.
Behind the scenes, this groundbreaking audio system was conceived and designed by Meyer Sound’s John Pellowe [pictured above], project director for Constellation; and Ana Lorente, senior acoustic engineer. They worked in close collaboration with Anders Jørgensen and the team at Danish integrator and consultant Stouenborg, building on an original acoustic concept developed by Adam Foxwell and Sebastian Holm from Efterklang.
The result was a world-first deployment of Constellation and Spacemap Go, used in tandem to deliver what Pellowe calls “crowd enhancement”, a unique approach that reshapes the arena experience by allowing fans to hear and feel each other, even across one of Europe’s most cavernous venues.
The idea wasn’t entirely new. More than a decade ago, Meyer Sound deployed Constellation in Vendespace, a 5,000-seat venue in France. Though originally installed for opera, the system also enhanced crowd noise during sports. That seed of an idea grew over time.
“It made us realise that if we were ever to do this in a larger space, we would need a lot more power in the system,” says Pellowe. “Now, in 2025, we have the technologies to make that vision a reality."
A system like no other
The completed system at Avicii Arena spans 12 acoustic zones and includes 84 ULTRA-X40 and ULTRA-X42 loudspeakers and 72 microphones, all running through NADIA processors, Meyer Sound’s flexible and powerful audio platform. NADIA’s unique partitioning capabilities allow Constellation and Spacemap Go to operate independently, each with its own timing, routing, and delay structure, yet using the same speaker infrastructure.
“In a very big space, delay optimisation is critical,” explains Pellowe. “We use proprietary methods to match the speed of sound throughout the arena. NADIA allows us to set one configuration for Constellation and a completely different one for immersive effects via Spacemap Go.”
Those effects come to life particularly during sports presentations and team entrances, when movement-based audio - such as crowd sweeps, music swirls, and environmental sounds - adds drama and dynamism to the show.
Solving a complex puzzle
Installing a system of this complexity inside Europe’s largest spherical building was never going to be straightforward. The arena’s new retractable ceiling, designed to enhance acoustics and double as a rigging structure, presented significant spatial and engineering constraints.
“The Pringle-shaped canopy was both a blessing and a challenge,” says Pellowe. “It improved the acoustics dramatically, but it meant our microphones and loudspeakers had to be installed with remarkable precision. If a bracket or pipe was even slightly off, it would collide with the moving roof.”
Adding to the pressure was a dramatically compressed timeline: delays in building work left only two weeks for overhead Constellation equipment to be installed. That’s where long-time partner Stouenborg came in. Working from detailed designs provided by Meyer Sound, the Danish integrator prefabricated the entire system in its Copenhagen facility, rehearsing the rigging process and assembling every speaker in advance.
“We’ve worked with Stouenborg for many years, and their attention to detail is second to none,” says Pellowe. “They made a two-week install possible.”
In fact, the strength of partnerships was key to the project’s success. Meyer Sound worked closely with acoustician Adam Foxwell from Efterklang, whose original vision for the arena’s acoustic treatment included both the mechanical ceiling and the electroacoustic overlay.
“Adam’s predictions for the canopy’s performance were perfect,” Pellowe notes. “We did everything we could to match that vision with Constellation. That level of alignment between physical and electronic acoustics is rare and incredibly powerful.”
This hands-on, collaborative approach is something that sets Meyer Sound apart. Unlike most audio manufacturers, the company remains deeply involved throughout the design and commissioning process of every Constellation system. That commitment has paid off: Constellation has a reputation not just for acoustic quality, but for long-term reliability and client satisfaction.
A sound that travels
One of the most innovative aspects of the Avicii Arena installation is how it reshapes the crowd experience itself. The arena was divided into eight triangular “pizza slice” zones, each with loudspeakers and microphones. Sound from any one zone can be redistributed to any or all others in real time, ensuring that fans singing at one end of the arena can be heard clearly at the other.
“The objective was to increase emotional connection,” says Pellowe. “We wanted competing teams to actually hear each other’s fans, not just see them. That changes the whole dynamic of the game.”
The result? A new category of Constellation system, one that doesn’t just manage reverberation or support performances, but actively amplifies the audience’s own presence.
When the system went live during the World Championship, the reaction was immediate. “You can design, model, and test in an empty room,” says Pellowe, “but the real test is when the building’s full of energy. When the crowd came in and we set the final levels, we knew it worked. That was the moment of truth.”
Feedback from fans, broadcasters, and arena management has been overwhelmingly positive. “We have heard from the highest level of management at the Avicii arena that they are very pleased with the system,” adds Pellowe.
For Pellowe personally, the transformation is especially meaningful. “I mixed Pavarotti here years ago. Back then, the space was so reverberant that even audience applause sounded distant. Now it’s full of life. It’s a complete turnaround.”
Like the venue itself, Meyer Sound is always evolving. “We’re constantly learning,” Pellowe says. “What we’re doing in 2025 is a world away from how we worked when we launched Constellation in 2006. That’s how it should be.”
And while the scale of Avicii Arena might be extraordinary, the philosophy behind the project - close collaboration, technical precision, and audience-first design - is core to every Constellation installation.
For Meyer Sound, it’s not just about sound. It’s about creating connection and amplifying the moments that bring people together.
Discover how the wider AV system came together in our full Avicii Arena case study.