Bosch's Praesideo technology is at the heart of a new public address and voice alarm system at MK Dons stadium

Proven Praesideo technology from Bosch Security Systems is at the heart of a new public address and voice alarm system installed at the recently constructed stadium:mk, the new home for the Milton Keynes Dons.

The installation, completed by Nottingham-based design and installation company VCP Services, combines Bosch's Praesideo with self-powered loudspeakers in what is believed to be the first installation of its kind in an outdoor stadium in the UK. Its significance is in the high audio quality that it brings, and the potential for future expansion, as Vince Clamp of VCP explains:

"The Bosch Praesideo system brings highly innovative and advanced digital technology to the public address market and gave us the platform to integrate the speakers, whilst still complying with all relevant EN standards for a PA/VA system," he says.

The processing and communication of both audio signals andcontrol data, which is entirely in the digital domain, makes the Praesideo system superior to other public address and emergency sound systems currently available: "the digital signal processing allows significant improvements in audio quality to be achieved," he continues. "Unlike traditional PA systems, Praesideo uses a network configuration rather than having all system elements connected to a central controller. This architecture gives real freedom in system design. The ‘daisy-chain' network topology means system elements can be connected (and added at a later date) to virtually any point."

Bosch Praesideo system brings highly innovative and advanced digital technology to public address market

"The optical system cabling carries no signals, so no extra wiring is ever necessary. Smaller systems can easily be expanded to match changing requirements, for instance creating new zones. And the flexible system architecture allows any type of equipment to be located wherever is most suitable in the building (for example to place power amplifiers closer to loudspeakers)."

The ability to expand the sound system is an important consideration given the size of the stadium. The lower bowl of the all-seater stadium currently provides a capacity of 22,000 seats; a further 9,000 seats are being installed in the upper tier, and work is also underway on the development of a 120-bedroom 4-star hotel, corporate boxes, additional office space, and two pitch-view restaurants. Future development plans also include a triple height indoor arena which will host indoor sporting events for 3,000 seated spectators (where the MK Lions basketball team will be based); it will also be able to host exhibitions, conferences and concerts for up to 5,000 people.

Whilst outdoor venues present their own challenges in terms of sound delivery for the sake of commentary, public address and entertainment, a large capacity venue like a football stadium must also consider the importance of reliability when it comes to voice evacuation.

"The Praesideo system offers great peace of mind due to its reliability," Vince adds. "By connecting the network ends together, a ‘redundant' loop is created so any break in the cable doesn't affect operation - an important consideration in an emergency system. Automatic switching to spare elements in the system is also possible if equipment operation is disrupted."

Bosch's trusted Praesideo system is the world's first fully digital public address and emergency sound system

Bosch's trusted Praesideo system is the world's first fully digital public address and emergency sound system, and was developed for the purpose of broadcasting information and entertainment, and for voice evacuation in emergency situations. It offers flexibility with system configuration, it is simple to install and offers high audio quality.

Praesideo is the perfect solution for larger applications with many zones like stadia. It handles message routing, public announcements, emergency voice evacuations, commentary for events and background music. It allows a large number of zones to be addressed that can be adapted to various acoustic conditions. The system comprises a network controller, which manages the public address and voice alarm functions and is connected to the stadium's fire detection system, audio expanders, call stations, and multi-channel interfaces and power amplifiers for zones that do not require specific sound processing.