Helong Stadium upgrades to CODA Audio for world-class sound in Changsha

The Helong Stadium in Changsha, China, is a 55,000-capacity multi-purpose venue best known for hosting football matches. While it isn’t the home ground of any specific club, the stadium regularly hosts China’s national team fixtures and major music events featuring both Chinese and international artists. To maintain its reputation as a premier sports and cultural destination, the stadium’s management recently undertook a comprehensive overhaul of its audio system, aiming to deliver world-class sound for every event, as Headliner discovers…

With an overall brief to address the dual issues of high-quality speech intelligibility and music reinforcement, the Helong team aimed to strike a balance between ‘clearly audible’ stadium announcements and ‘pleasantly enjoyable’ music listening.

The project was undertaken by Zhejiang Tongbo Vision Technology Co., Ltd., which installed a CODA Audio system to deliver professional-grade, significantly enhanced audio for the major sporting and cultural programs at the Stadium.

The audio challenges faced in stadiums are many, including vast open spaces and often complex tiered seating. On this occasion, owing to a busy schedule of forthcoming major events, Tongbo also faced a very intense schedule with a limited timescale in which to complete the installation.

Drawing on their extensive experience of major installations and detailed understanding of CODA Audio’s advanced technologies, the Tongbo team worked around the clock to complete the installation, from design and preparation to commissioning, in just 12 days.

The system at Helong Stadium primarily deployed CODA Audio loudspeakers from the HOPS range (high output point source). In the grandstand areas, 32 HOPS12i (full-range, three-way) are driven by eight LINUS14 DSP amplifiers. 

A system comprising eight HOPS12T and eight PW418 subs, driven by eight LINUS14s, is used for mobile performances within the venue, whilst six HOPS5 driven by two LINUS6.4 amplifiers cover the VIP area.

“Optimised for speech intelligibility and music performance, the new CODA system at the stadium constitutes a major leap forward in audio performance, maintaining exceptional clarity for announcements, with uniform coverage and a natural listening experience in every seat, from the front rows to the furthest reaches of the stands,” enthuses a spokesperson for Tongbo.

“It will significantly enhance the audio experience for both sporting events and cultural activities, setting a new benchmark for venue acoustics.”

“Tongbo has once again excelled itself with this installation, particularly as it has been completed in such a short time,” adds David Webster, global head of sales and marketing for CODA Audio. “We’re very proud to see a CODA system trusted to deliver audio at this high-end international-class stadium.”