Industrial Communication & Sound (ICS) has deployed a Dante-based audio system spanning 54 zones at the Cincinnati Open tennis complex, using LEA Professional amplification across the expanded campus.
The installation forms part of a $250 million (€223 million) redevelopment that more than doubled the size of the venue, adding courts, hospitality spaces, public areas, indoor facilities and year-round attractions.
The audio network covers 10 match courts, 21 practice courts, 5 new buildings, renovated
facilities and common areas. It supports match audio, site-wide and emergency paging, background music, broadcast distribution, Hawk-Eye officiating integration, pre-recorded messages and zoned and all-call communications.
ICS, which has a long-standing relationship with the venue, was given approximately 60 days to design the changes and around
five months to complete installation, programming, testing, balancing and troubleshooting before the tournament began.
Carl Heck, business development specialist at ICS, said: “We started using LEA amplifiers about five years ago, and we haven't looked back.
“We knew they’d be an ideal platform for a
world-class tournament environment, given their product catalogue, combined with their competitive pricing and robust long-term reliability.”
The installation uses a range of Dante-enabled LEA Connect Series amplifiers, including the 84D, 164D, 168D, 352D, 354D, 702D, 704D and 1504D models.
Amplifier outputs range from 80W per channel
on the four-channel 84D through to 1,500W per channel from the four-channel 1504D, allowing ICS to address different loudspeaker and zone requirements across the site.
The Dante-enabled amplifiers provide 96kHz Dante and AES67 connectivity alongside onboard 96kHz DSP. They can also drive Hi-Z 70V or 100V
and Lo-Z loudspeaker systems, selectable on a per-channel basis.
ICS used LEA’s SharkWare software to create a base amplifier configuration before pushing it to pre-staged units ahead of installation.
The software provides amplifier grouping, offline system design, user-access controls and loudspeaker tuning, alongside monitoring of networked
amplifiers and individual channels. Engineers can also adjust parameters including EQ, crossover, limiter and load monitoring.
Remote monitoring is provided through LEA Cloud, allowing ICS to access and control amplifiers without being on site.
The single-rack-space amplifier format also allowed equipment to be integrated into
existing network switch racks rather than requiring dedicated amplifier racks throughout the expanded venue.
The completed network allows audio sources to be routed between zones across the complex, while several locations can connect live music sources directly into the Dante network for localised or site-wide distribution.
Heck said: “By all accounts from the attendee experience, the player experience, and media response, the Cincinnati Open is now widely considered one of the premier tennis facilities in the world.
“That’s definitely in part thanks to LEA amplifiers. We can’t say enough good things about them.”