Meyer Sound MILO at Orlando's Amway Center

The sound system at Florida's Amway Center, home of the basketball team the Orlando Magi, is anchored by 66 Meyer Sound MILO line array loudspeakers - a system that largely duplicates recent touring rigs for such acts as Usher, Metallica, and Céline Dion.

Rick Price, assistant director of broadcast technology and services for the Magic and Amway Center, says, "This building is about sponsorship opportunities and fan experience. With our massive LED scoreboard, I knew we would be doing visually incredible things, but I wanted to be absolutely sure that we had audio that was equally impressive.

"We said early on that the most important thing we could put it in this building was an amazing sound system," he adds. "It's the one thing you can't sell, but, if people walk away from an amazing visual experience where they had a bad audio experience, they won't be impressed. And it was always frustrating, because we would create this great content that the fans could see but they would never be able to hear it properly. Now we can offer our fans the complete experience, and that includes our fantastic video working hand-in-glove with superb sound from the Meyer system."

The massive MILO contingent covers most of the main bowl with six arrays of 11 cabinets each, while 24 flown M3D-Sub directional subwoofers with cardioid response patterns provide low end. Completing the system are 24 UPA-1P loudspeakers deployed as outer-ring delays, plus eight more UPA-1P loudspeakers hung under the largest-in-the-league video display. A Galileo loudspeaker management system with five Galileo 616 processors handles drive and optimization; an RMS remote monitoring system keeps tab of performance and enables mouse-click reconfiguration for different events.

The Amway Center main audio system was designed by Pro Sound and Video (based in Florida and California) in collaboration with Meyer Sound Design Services. Integration and installation was by Pro Sound and Video with project management by David Shoemaker, of the company's Orlando office.

"It's a true concert grade system," says Rod Sintow, CEO of Pro Sound and Video. "It's the best they could have put in there. It has incredible coverage everywhere, and cuts through everything. It rocks the walls."

Looking at the sound system from a user's perspective, Todd Herrbach, lead audio engineer for the Orlando Magic, says. "It has exceeded our expectations and our expectations were high. It's been great with loud, fourth-quarter time-out music, with player interview videos, and everything in between."

Although the Magic is the Amway Center's principal tenant, the venue also hosts the Orlando Predators, of the Arena Football League, along with a variety of touring concerts and special events. Completed in late 2010, the Amway Center was built at a cost of $480 million. Principal architect was Populous (formerly HOK Sport), in consultation with Smith Seckman Reid and Walter P. Moore Engineers and Consultants.

Quickly hailed as one of the most technologically advanced arenas in the world, Amway Center also features leading-edge systems for broadcasting, in-house video production, digital signage, and IT infrastructure. Regarding audio, according to Sintow, other NBA teams will be playing catch-up ball for a while. "The Amway Center didn't put in a system just to get by," he remarks. "They have a system here that not only sets the standard for today but likely will do so for at least five or ten years to come."