Sennheiser Digital 6000 shine with Rihanna in the Super Bowl 2023

The performance was conducted by the Digital wireless microphone system. 6000 of Sennheiser and an SKM transmitter 6000 custom chrome plating with an MD dynamic cardioid microphone capsule 9235.

During the celebration of the Super Bowl this year, Rihanna offered the second most watched halftime show in the history of this competition, surpassing the average audience for the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs football game in 5 Million, according to Fox data.

The long-awaited performance was driven by the wireless microphone system Digital 6000 of Sennheiser, brand that distributes Magnetron, and a transmitter SKM 6000 Custom chrome plating with a dynamic cardioid microphone capsule MD 9235.

the State Farm Arena, in the Phoenix metropolitan area is one of the most challenging environments to coordinate wireless frequencies and the Sennheiser system played a key role in this action.

There were more than 2.000 Coordinated frequencies in Phoenix during Super Bowl weekend, as dozens of simultaneous events took place in the area, including the NFL Honor Awards 2023, various VIP events, Outdoor concerts and more. With this, and the shrinking spectrum available to wireless microphone operators, Audio engineers and frequency coordinators for this year's broadcast had a lot of work ahead of them..

"Phoenix is a challenging city because it's the only one that officially doesn't have a vacant UHF TV channel.. All are assigned for streaming, so there is very little spectrum available for wireless microphones.", Explains Joe Ciaudelli, Director of Spectrum and Innovation at Sennheiser. "To complicate matters further., Although it is a covered stadium with a retractable roof, State Farm Arena doesn't provide much protection against external RF signals, which makes it vulnerable to interference".

The location and circumstances made the Super Bowl halftime show, that already had a lot at stake, Much more demanding for the audio professionals involved. "Thanks to their ingenuity and diligent planning, NFL audio engineers and frequency coordinators were able to combat the RF environment this year, taking advantage of Special Temporary Authorizations (STA) through the FCC, along with some other solutions", adds Ciaudelli.

An STA gives licensed wireless microphone operators temporary access to frequency bands that are not allowed for wireless microphones. Engineers also leveraged channels occupied by distant or low-power TV stations and used intelligent directional antenna placement to attenuate these unwanted TV signals., before wireless microphone receivers picked them up. Without this planning, All transmission, including Rihanna's performance, would have been at risk of audio interruptions and interference.

Beyond safeguarding wireless signal through STA and directional antennas, the audio equipment had to be careful with the choice of wireless microphone system for Rihanna. Not just to ensure your voice sounded optimally, but also to combat the RF environment and establish a trusted wireless connection.

One MD microphone capsule 9235 He gave brightness to his voice, while the Digital 6000 did the rest.

"The Digital System 6000 with MD capsule 9235 It's not just a great-sounding microphone, it also has very good intermodulation suppression and clean RF signal. This is a tool that works in an environment where all others might fail.", says Ciaudelli.

For Ciaudelli, This year's Super Bowl has been highlighted by the challenges of the lack of adequate spectrum available for wireless microphones. This has led to "STAs becoming a boring staple at almost every professional sporting event today.. Even though it is called Special Temporary Authorization, it's being used so routinely that you might as well start calling them Standard Temporary Authorizations.".

As professional sporting events become more multifaceted and the number of wireless audio and video channels increases, The challenges of the spectrum crisis will only get harder to navigate.

Other articles on Magnetron, Sennheiser, Sennheiser Communications, State Farm Arena