In one of its first major live sound events since launching its customer-centric
organizational model, HARMAN Professional Solutions provided a complete audio
system for a major diplomatic ceremony in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The
event celebrated the first visit by an Indian prime minister to the UAE in more than
three decades and featured speeches and performances for a crowd of 50,000 at
the Dubai Cricket Stadium. Highly accomplished, well-respected production
company SHOWTEC deployed a high-performing system from HARMAN Professional
Solutions that included JBL’s VTX line arrays, Crown I-Tech HD amplifiers and
Soundcraft Vi Series digital mixing consoles.

Regional distributor GSL Professional supplied SHOWTEC with the HARMAN
Professional Solutions components, which demonstrated supreme versatility. In
addition to handling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address, they also delivered
sonic clarity and high output for the international artists who performed.

While leading production companies like SHOWTEC prioritize the sonic performance
of their equipment, the ease with which a system can be set up and operated under
the pressures of a high-profile event is equally important. According to SHOWTEC, a
system from HARMAN Professional Solutions features components optimized to
work seamlessly together, saves labor and enables the production crew to devote
its full attention to the artists performing on stage.

“The JBL VTX line arrays were particularly impressive in their ability to deliver clear
and powerful speech reproduction for the Prime Minister’s address,’ said Wasim
Shaikh, Sound Engineer with SHOWTEC. “Combined with the I-Tech HD amplifiers,
there is not a system I can think of that can so elegantly transition between music
and speech. The versatility of the HARMAN solution is unparalleled.’

The main PA system featured a left-right configuration of 12 VTX V25 line array
elements per side, accompanied by eight ground-stacked VTX S28 subwoofers per
side. Crown I-Tech 12000HD amplifiers powered the system. In addition, eight JBL
VERTEC® VT4888 midsize line array elements provided front fill, along with four
VT4882 subwoofers, all powered with Crown I-Tech 12000HD amplifiers. A
Soundcraft Vi6 console was used at the front-of-house position, while a Soundcraft
Vi1 console was used as front-of-house backup. JBL HiQnet Performance Manager™
software facilitated system setup and management.

Eight JBL VRX915M loudspeakers and four VP7212MDP loudspeakers made up the
monitor system on stage, while a pair of JBL EON515XT loudspeakers was used as
backstage monitors.

SHOWTEC deployed a delay system featuring eight V25 loudspeakers, powered with
Crown I-Tech 12000HD amplifiers. 20 VERTEC VT4889 full-size line array
loudspeakers and 10 VT4880 subwoofers were distributed around the field from the
stadium’s lower balcony, all powered with Crown I-Tech 9000HD amplifiers. In
addition, a total of 24 JBL EON515XT and eight EONG2 portable loudspeakers were
placed on stands throughout the stadium’s second-level balcony.

The Soundcraft Vi6 console also proved its mettle at this challenging event. “Our
audio engineers are always impressed with the top-notch quality of sound provided
by the Soundcraft Vi Series as well as how easy they are to use,’ said Shaikh. “We
absolutely trust the Soundcraft Vi Series consoles for a wide variety of large and
small events.’