When Major League Baseball (MLB)’s San Francisco Giants needed to upgrade their sound system, they turned to Powersoft technology and Diversified to integrate the system. The Giants – World Series Champions in 2010, 2012, and 2014 – moved to picturesque Oracle Park in 2000 after spending several decades in windy Candlestick Park. The stadium, considered one of baseball’s most beautiful parks with its San Francisco Bay backdrop, seats 41,331 with an added 1,500 for standing room.
Diversified – which maintains a longstanding relationship with the Giants, including installing the control room in 2000 – is renowned for its rich portfolio of stadium installations, including Climate Pledge Arena (Seattle) and American Family Field (Milwaukee Brewers), both of which are powered by Powersoft.
The roots of the Oracle Park installation date back four years, when, realizing the sound system installed in 2000 was aging, Diversified was hired to do a rebalance. However, both the Giants and Diversified knew a completely new audio system was needed.
“As it aged, the system began to have a few problems, and the Giants wanted something brand new that would not only deliver better sound but enhance the fan experience,” says Justo Gutierrez, director of engineering for Diversified. “We were able to reuse a lot of the existing infrastructure, using the same speaker locations with new products. We modeled it to make sure we picked the right things as far as Powersoft technology goes.”
That technology includes a Powersoft X4, a four-channel amplifier with DSP and Dante, as well as 36 Quattrocanali 4804 DSP+D and 12 Quattrocanali 8804 DSP+D, all of which are AC power-friendly and exactly what the Giants were looking for. The X4 and Quattrocanali, which at Oracle Park are paired with a Fulcrum speaker system, both feature Powersoft’s patented SRM (Smart Rails Management) technology, allowing Diversified to maximize the efficiency of the system and drastically reduce power consumption while reducing the need for external cooling devices.
“It’s got the DSP+D, which means it’s got DSP in the amplifier and the +D part means it’s Dante,” explains Gutierrez, “and it works with the QSC control system that’s in the stadium because there are plug-ins that Powersoft has developed that allow us to see the telemetry out of the amplifiers from the user interface on the control side of things. That is an important factor with amplifier selection because it needs to work as part of the overall control of the sound system.”
Diversified worked closely with Powersoft to right-size a couple of the amplifier choices – especially when it came to subwoofers, since subs aren’t common in baseball stadiums. Diversified designed and built Oracle Park’s new sound system to be lucid while also delivering highfidelity music with subwoofers for low-frequency impact.
“Powersoft amplifiers have robust redundancy. If they lose the digital link to the amplifiers, the analogue takes over,” adds Gutierrez. “They reboot quickly if there is a power outage: you turn it back on and within ten seconds, they can start making sound again. That is why Powersoft is being used a lot in stadium applications. Plus, their tech support is very responsive.”
“The previous system was good, but now we have taken it to the next level, and there is a noticeable increase in the sound quality,” adds Jeff Dykhouse, senior design engineer at Diversified. “We have done numerous stadiums and arenas, but this is a top-tier installation in a top-tier location – it’s San Francisco, the Giants, and Major League Baseball. They also installed a new lighting system among the upgrades, and it was exciting to be part of this project.”
And the reaction of the San Francisco Giants – one of Major League Baseball’s most storied franchises? “This upgrade truly elevates the complete ballpark experience for our fans,” says Bill Schlough, the team’s chief information officer. “Fans may not see it, but they will definitely feel it!”
