Incheon, South Korea | August, 2014 - In late fall of 2014, South Korea will host the XVII Asian Games in and around Incheon, located near to the country's capital, Seoul. Korea has previously hosted the Asian Games in 1986, closely followed by the 1988 Olympics, and the FIFA World Cup in 2002. More than a decade later, new venues were needed for the 2014 event.

While it is not one of the Asian Games' official venues, the newly-built Ansan Evergreen Gymnasium will host volleyball and kabaddi up to the quarter final stages. Designed as a multipurpose space, the gymnasium will be home to the Ansan volleyball team and other sporting events, and will also host music and cultural events.

Audio company Daikyung Vascom provided the sound system, which features a Renkus-Heinz PN102 line array system. As Yang-Su Yun, manager of Daikyung Vascom's RPS business division, explains, the project was a bit out of the ordinary. 

"This building is owned by the government, which isn't very common for a venue like this," he says. "The local council based at Ansan City Hall wanted the building to function as both a sporting venue and a concert hall, and hence they needed a very good, high-performance speaker system. Other strict criteria were sound quality and functionality, both of which were extremely important factors in choosing the Renkus-Heinz system.'"

Yang-Su observes that Daikyung Vascom had previously installed a system at the Ansan City Hall, and has a good working relationship with the council. "They are familiar with our work, and they really appreciate the after sales service we provide."

The main system in the hall comprises 32 PN102LAR array loudspeakers, configured as four arrays of eight cabinets each, 90 degrees apart. The arrays are positioned on each corner of a centrally-flown block which houses four large screens, so that spectators on all four sides of the hall have a close up view of the action. Additional fills are provided by four PN121-series two-way cabinets, as well as five ST4 three-way systems and a pair of CFX151 boxes. Four DR18-2 and two PN112SUB subwoofers provide low frequency reinforcement. 

"The PN102 line arrays were selected for their accurate and even coverage pattern, providing consistent coverage to every seat in the hall," says Daikyung Vascom's CEO Patrick Han. "RHAON (Renkus-Heinz Audio Operations Network) control was another important factor in selecting the system, enabling networked DSP control over the entire system."

Flexibility was the keyword when it came to designing the space, which will be hosting a wide variety of events. Permanent seats are available in the upper part of the hall, while bleacher-style seating along the hall's two longer walls is retractable and can be folded back to the walls to accommodate more people. A stage can be constructed at the far end of the hall for large concerts. When being used in this configuration, temporary seating can be set up on the floor of the gymnasium, and a total of around 3,000 people can be accommodated. 

The system design was carried out by Daikyung Vascom's sales team, together with local systems integration specialist Sinwoo. Working closely with Daikyung Vascom, Sinwoo's Byung-Sun Ahn designed a system that would be optimal for the space. The team used EASE acoustic prediction software to map the room and define its sound qualities.

"This was the first time I've worked with Renkus-Heinz," says Mr Ahn. "I checked the specifications and references of the Renkus-Heinz speakers, and when I simulated them to fit the space I got very good results. The actual performance of the speakers was very close to what we'd predicted with EASE. I'm very satisfied with the system. I also really appreciated being able to use RHAON to tune the system, especially the mid frequencies."

As for Ansan Urban Corporation's Mr Kim, he is of the opinion that the speakers offer the best possible functionality for concert sound, providing high SPLs when required. "Once we are able to put on concerts here, the system will prove itself as really good for this kind of event, while also being able to provide intelligibility and clarity when the hall is being used for our sporting events," he says. 

Ansan Evergreen Gymnasium now boasts a state of the art sound system to complement its clean architectural design and functionality. The signs are positive that the new sporting venue will contribute to a successful and uplifting Asian Games later this year, providing a panacea that South Korea needs.