Powersoft provided audio for a crowd of over 70,000 that gathered for Super Bowl 50 at Levi’s Stadium last week, using over 120 of its K10 high-performance power amplifiers and eight custom subwoofers featuring Powersoft M-System drivers.

The pre-game and halftime entertainment portions of the event – powered solely by Powersoft amplifiers – featured energetic performances by Lady Gaga, Coldplay, Beyoncé and Bruno Mars, and reached no less than 111.9 million viewers.

Audio services provider ATK Audiotek provided system integration and audio services for the landmark event, creating an audio solution that consisted of 18 mobile speaker carts – each equipped with JBL VT4889 line array elements, JBL VT4880A subwoofers and Powersoft K10 amplifiers. The speaker carts were rolled onto the field for the pre-game, halftime and post-game portions of the event.

During the event planning processes, efficiency and footprint were key concerns, as Kirk Powell, systems designer of ATK Audiotek explained: “For events of this size, there is enormous power usage so efficiency is absolutely key. The Powersoft K10s minimise our power draw and provide maximum output efficiency,” he said. The small size of the amplifiers also significantly reduces truck weight and transportation expenses. “We had five packed semi tractor trailers carting gear up to the stadium, and every bit of space counted," he added.

The compactness of the Powersoft amplifiers – which occupy approximately one third the space of conventional amplifiers, the company says – helped enable a smooth transition during set up from game time to halftime. “They were able to set up and tear down the K10s really fast – and there was absolutely no shortage of power in the stadium," said entertainment FOH engineer Toby Francis.

In addition to harnessing Powersoft’s amplification capabilities, ATK also leveraged the firm’s Armonia software to handle tuning and DSP settings for the halftime show. "All of the system tuning – including filtering – was done in Armonia," explained Pat Baltzell, sound designer and FOH mixer for ATK Audiotek. "By using the filters in Armonia, we are able to attain a much finer resolution in the DSP than if we were using a standalone device.”

Pre-game programming included performances of "The Star-Spangled Banner", "America the Beautiful" and the Walter Payton award presentation; the much anticipated halftime segment included performances by Coldplay, Beyoncé and Bruno Mars; the post-game programming featured the presentation of the Vince Lombardi trophy and Most Valuable Player award.

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