Optocore Brings FO Audio to San Diego Symphony Outdoor Venue

Rady Shell, in Jacobs Park, es la nueva sede al aire libre de la San Diego Symphony; un singular anfiteatro ubicado en esta famosa bahía de California que cuenta con una potente y amplia red de audio por FO de Optocore y consolas DiGiCo para sus conciertos y eventos.

Located on San Diego Bay, the new outdoor amphitheatre Rady Shell in Jacobs Park, with the capacity to 10.000 people, has become the first permanent space for concerts and waterfront events in the United States managed by a symphony orchestra.

One of the requirements of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra to be installed in this new space was the acoustic quality and have an expanded and reliable fiber optic network to record all the shows and rehearsals for archival purposes.

The project carried out by Solotech, company that supplied and integrated the entire audio system, was based on the success achieved with the solutions of Optocore for cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas and for the National Centre for the Arts in Ottawa, to accommodate the huge amount of channels and data needed.

For this outdoor concert hall in San Diego, Optocore networks of 2 GB, that offer this ample space capacity up to 1.024 channels and 24 network nodes.

The installation has two rings from this manufacturer that work in parallel: one for consoles DiGiCo and their SD racks at the stage entrances, and another exclusively for the Optocore units that transport the inputs and the distribution of the public address system, including link lines between locations and stage rack leads for recording.

The DiGiCo network consists of SD consoles in the sound room and on the monitors, and three SD racks that can be deployed depending on the needs required by each concert or event.

At the core of every system is a Optocore AutoRouter to actively monitor each fiber connection. When a rack or console connects to a remote endpoint, this computer reconfigures the network array to maintain a redundant star topology with all active nodes.

Optocore units that are in fixed racks are always connected to the AutoRouter, constantly transmitting through the installed fiber. Mobile endpoints around the facility include FOH and monitors that can be activated simply by connecting a rack.

"Optocore allows us the flexibility needed with the overall design of the system," he says. Aaron Beck, Solotech engineer-. It is very easy to add or remove devices with Route 66 AutoRouter as the system changes. Each show may have different configurations and requirements, but now it's very easy to change the performance of the system".

Each SD rack contains an Optocore DD4MR-FX local that takes a split of the main entries of the FOH system and routes them for archiving and recording purposes. Each of the MADI BNC ports of the DD4MR can transmit or receive up to 64 channels to 48 kHz or 32 channels to 96 khz.

The main FOH console powers the Optocore network via another DD4MR, with 64 I/O MADI a 96 kHz available to capture the highest quality audio, no interference or signal loss.

Optocore is used to distribute the main mixtures from the FOH to the system processors. The processed signals are loaded back into this network and sent to the three amplification rooms where the main interconnection is located., the right stage and another in a separate building at the back of the audience for the delay speakers.

Instead of the typical analog connection lines between locations, Optocore AD/DA converters are used to cover any other audio need and distribute it throughout the installation, with cross-network interconnect for what X6R-TP hardware versions are typically used for. A pair of Optocore X6R-FX-8MI/8LO in the monitor rack and on the stage manager's table provide more connectivity to the system.

On a grassy hill located at the back of the auditorium is the so-called Building B, housing a video control room with an X6R and amplifiers to power the delay speakers and surround sound, with additional functionality for output 128 MADI I/O in fiber through two DD2FR-FX.

Another component of the Optocore system and the way it interconnects everything is a unit X6R-FX-IC422 in the central equipment room. This device connects to the frame Clear-Com delta, that provides the intercom of the facilities.

Thanks to the development partnership of this manufacturer with Optocore, digital intercom and control can pass through the network like any other audio channel through an I/O card designed specifically for the X6R.

As Aaron Beck emphasizes, "The system sounds fantastic and keeping everything at 96K was a must since the project was designed.. The use of fiber optic cabling between buildings also helped overcome large distances., since everything is very scattered".

Rady Shell in Jacobs Park will host up to 110 annual events of the San Diego Symphony and other organizations, and days when there are no concerts scheduled, the park will remain open to the public.

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