EN 54 Certification Extends the L-Acoustics Ecosystem to Voice Alarm Applications

	Arrays of A15i at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey

Sports venues have long run two audio systems in parallel: one for the announcer, the playlist and the half-time show, and a second, specified against EN 54, for evacuation. Two sets of loudspeakers in the same concourse, two sets of electronics, two maintenance contracts. For L-Acoustics systems, that duplication is no longer necessary.

L-Acoustics has attained EN 54 certification across a growing portfolio of loudspeakers, amplified controllers, and network products, from EN 54-24 for loudspeakers forming part of a voice alarm system to EN 54-16 for voice alarm control and indicating equipment. The enclosures and electronics that the industry specifies for concert-grade sound reinforcement now also hold the certification required for life safety announcements.

With an expanding portfolio of EN 54 certified loudspeakers, amplified controllers, and network management solutions, L-Acoustics enables system designers and integrators to combine sound reinforcement with compliant voice alarm capability within a single ecosystem. The result, the company says, is a unified solution that delivers audio performance for everyday operation while meeting the reliability and monitoring requirements expected of voice alarm systems.

Whether the project is a sports venue, a corporate campus, or an educational facility, consultants can now specify one integrated audio ecosystem that supports both engaging listening experiences and critical emergency communication. One design model, one commissioning process, one set of spares.

The certified range covers the full span of spaces EN 54 applies to, from a single corridor to a full arena. Kara IIi handles the largest volumes, where a variable curvature line source is needed to reach the far seating of an arena, the length of a concourse, or the depth of a large hall. Ai Series constant curvature enclosures, in both Wide and Focus variants, cover mid-sized rooms: auditoria and lecture theaters, atria, sports halls, multipurpose rooms and waiting areas. Xi Series coaxial models handle the smaller spaces every building has, including meeting rooms, hospitality areas and back-of-house, where intelligibility matters as much as it does in the main room.

EN 54-16 certification covers the LA7.16i, LA1.16i, LA4X, and LA2Xi amplified controllers, as well as the LC16D network audio converter and the LS10 Milan-AVB switch when integrated into the PAVA Facilities VACIE rack. Amplification, processing, monitoring, and fault reporting therefore stay within the same platform that drives the entertainment system.

Sports facilities are where performance and compliance collide most visibly. A stadium sound system has to maintain intelligibility across tens of thousands of seats, in reverberant concrete bowls and against sustained crowd noise, whether the message is a team announcement, a sponsor activation, or an instruction to leave the building. Historically, the compromise fell on one side or the other: a voice alarm system pressed into service for entertainment audio it was never designed to deliver, or a high-performance sound system shadowed by a parallel compliant installation. The same applies to convention centers, theatres, university campuses and corporate headquarters, all of which combine demanding program material with statutory evacuation requirements.

"Our customers were already asking us to cover both jobs, because they could hear the difference between the two systems in their buildings," says Germain Simon, director of product management, loudspeakers at L-Acoustics. "EN 54 certification means they no longer have to choose. The system that fills a stadium on a Saturday afternoon is the system that will speak clearly to that same crowd if it ever needs to be emptied."

For more information on the L-Acoustics EN 54 certified ecosystem, including the full list of certified products and system configurations, visit www.l-acoustics.com/applications/en-54.