Park Audio, Lighting and Everything Geeky

[DistortAMG]

I don’t understand the geek world’s fascinating with Bose, they are average to good speakers with great marketing. Ohm are pretty much on par quality wise.

They are an average to great speaker with some of the industry's leading signal processing, which then excels them.

I mean, there were audio challenges that were nailed spot on because they used Bose and their engineers, problems you would not even knew existed.

An example being Nemesis. Pushing the deep bass from that central entrance tower, with high sound pressure, while also engineering the mid range and treble to be able to cut through and be heard clearly through all that low frequency energy in the air, while in a pit is a pretty remarkable. Very difficult audio challenge to do what they did with Nemesis, yet they nailed it. Same goes for Hex, they nailed that too, another very difficult thing to get right.

Apart from the badly done Hex audio overhaul, Ohm do not seem to do any audio solutions for specific audio challenges. They just seem to place speakers and hope for the best.

Anyone can place a speaker and wire it up. Coming up with a custom audio solution, that is tailor engineered for a specific problem and area, that needs to be bathed in high quality and balanced sound is something Bose do very well. They did it very well across all the Tussauds parks.

There was very specific reasons why Nemesis had the audio firing from a single tower, which also helped to put massive audio pressure and presence in the sound. Goes well with the intimidating vibe of Nemesis. Very difficult to get right though due to how they set the system up and the location being a pit, bose nailed it. They could have just gone the easy route and placed little speakers in the queue like they have done with Wickerman, that would be the easy option though, with wose sound.

I think the biggest project Ohm have done is Wickerman perhaps. Where their standard (place speakers close and frequently) operating procedures commenced. Easy to get right and setup, but has a totally different audio experience. That's what the main difference between the two companies are if you ask me, not in the speaker quality based on their own, but how they apply and use those speakers for a specific project and location to get the sound really good.

I mean ohm seemingly did not even bother setting up a delay system in the Octagon on Hex, something that is hugely important in a space such as that, due to its size and acousitc properties. Yet their skills do not even extened to one of the most basic signal processing techniques used in the industry. That says to me, that while they can make speakers. Their expertise does not extent to ensuring said speakers sound as good as they can in varied and acoustically challenging spaces.

At least with Bose Professional, if you want them to, they not only sell you the speakers. But tell you what speakers you need to buy, where to place them and then engineer the system to maximise sound quality based on your project and what you are trying to achieve. Part of the Bose offering that Tussauds used to use extensively.

 

[Dave]

They are an average to great speaker with some of the industry's leading signal processing, which then excels them.

I mean, there were audio challenges that were nailed spot on because they used Bose and their engineers, problems you would not even knew existed.

An example being Nemesis. Pushing the deep bass from that central entrance tower, with high sound pressure, while also engineering the mid range and treble to be able to cut through and be heard clearly through all that low frequency energy in the air, while in a pit is a pretty remarkable. Very difficult audio challenge to do what they did with Nemesis, yet they nailed it. Same goes for Hex, they nailed that too, another very difficult thing to get right.

Apart from the badly done Hex audio overhaul, Ohm do not seem to do any audio solutions for specific audio challenges. They just seem to place speakers and hope for the best.

Anyone can place a speaker and wire it up. Coming up with a custom audio solution, that is tailor engineered for a specific problem and area, that needs to be bathed in high quality and balanced sound is something Bose do very well. They did it very well across all the Tussauds parks.

There was very specific reasons why Nemesis had the audio firing from a single tower, which also helped to put massive audio pressure and presence in the sound. Goes well with the intimidating vibe of Nemesis. Very difficult to get right though due to how they set the system up and the location being a pit, bose nailed it. They could have just gone the easy route and placed little speakers in the queue like they have done with Wickerman, that would be the easy option though, with wose sound.

I think the biggest project Ohm have done is Wickerman perhaps. Where their standard (place speakers close and frequently) operating procedures commenced. Easy to get right and setup, but has a totally different audio experience. That's what the main difference between the two companies are if you ask me, not in the speaker quality based on their own, but how they apply and use those speakers for a specific project and location to get the sound really good.

I mean ohm seemingly did not even bother setting up a delay system in the Octagon on Hex, something that is hugely important in a space such as that, due to its size and acousitc properties. Yet their skills do not even extened to one of the most basic signal processing techniques used in the industry. That says to me, that while they can make speakers. Their expertise does not extent to ensuring said speakers sound as good as they can in varied and acoustically challenging spaces.

At least with Bose Professional, if you want them to, they not only sell you the speakers. But tell you what speakers you need to buy, where to place them and then engineer the system to maximise sound quality based on your project and what you are trying to achieve. Part of the Bose offering that Tussauds used to use extensively.

I don’t think ohm installed the speakers at Towers, pretty sure that was done in house.

 

[Islander]

I think the biggest project Ohm have done is Wickerman perhaps. Where their standard (place speakers close and frequently) operating procedures commenced. Easy to get right and setup, but has a totally different audio experience. That's what the main difference between the two companies are if you ask me, not in the speaker quality based on their own, but how they apply and use those speakers for a specific project and location to get the sound really good.

I mean ohm seemingly did not even bother setting up a delay system in the Octagon on Hex, something that is hugely important in a space such as that, due to its size and acousitc properties. Yet their skills do not even extened to one of the most basic signal processing techniques used in the industry. That says to me, that while they can make speakers. Their expertise does not extent to ensuring said speakers sound as good as they can in varied and acoustically challenging spaces.

At least with Bose Professional, if you want them to, they not only sell you the speakers. But tell you what speakers you need to buy, where to place them and then engineer the system to maximise sound quality based on your project and what you are trying to achieve. Part of the Bose offering that Tussauds used to use extensively.

You've missed the fundamental difference here though, in that previously the park (or Tussauds Studios) worked with Bose, and yes got not only the hardware but specification and installation expertise. With Ohm, the park has simply gone and bought Ohm speakers, and then completed the design and install in-house. Ohm as a company would have had nothing to do with the design of the systems.

 

[DistortAMG]

You've missed the fundamental difference here though, in that previously the park (or Tussauds Studios) worked with Bose, and yes got not only the hardware but specification and installation expertise. With Ohm, the park has simply gone and bought Ohm speakers, and then completed the design and install in-house. Ohm as a company would have had nothing to do with the design of the systems.

You have told me I missed the point and then gone and made the point I made in a different way. Bose offer a complete turn key solution, Ohm do not. For the the most part, they just sell speakers. So like I said in my post, it tells you alot about the expertise of said company based on what they do or do not offer.

Ohm unfortionatly do not have the in-house expertise to offer the same solution as Bose, if they did, I am sure their sound would be just as good as Bose.

 

[s_g_k]

I seem to recall that Bose did a similar site specific install plan in Ug Land? The thumping bass in the Corkscrew queue line was great.

 

[Connor98]

Out of curiosity, a previous post mentioned the sound/speaker setup around nemesis is fantastic in the entrance plaza, however I do imagine it could and may be improved with the refurb. But I was wondering has the audio always been so quiet as you get further into the queue line, such as sections near the loop/on the bridge. It always seems to be quiet in and around that area apart from the roar of the coaster.

 

[Dave]

Out of curiosity, a previous post mentioned the sound/speaker setup around nemesis is fantastic in the entrance plaza, however I do imagine it could and may be improved with the refurb. But I was wondering has the audio always been so quiet as you get further into the queue line, such as sections near the loop/on the bridge. It always seems to be quiet in and around that area apart from the roar of the coaster.

Indeed I’m not actually that much of a fan of the Nemesis audio set-up. It is nice when you are in certain parts of the site but can be very quiet at times in the queue.

 

[DistortAMG]

I totally agree with both of you. I think it's a classic case as is the same with nearly everything on park these days with age. It has been messed and tinkered with over many years, resulting in a very different audio experience than what was.

 

[Connor98]

Indeed I’m not actually that much of a fan of the Nemesis audio set-up. It is nice when you are in certain parts of the site but can be very quiet at times in the queue.

Absolutely! Would be great to see them sort this when they are doing the refurb. I’d also love to see something like the bass cannons that are in the inferno station. I’d love to hear that soundtrack with the bass and volume it deserves!

 

[DistortAMG]

Absolutely! Would be great to see them sort this when they are doing the refurb. I’d also love to see something like the bass cannons that are in the inferno station. I’d love to hear that soundtrack with the bass and volume it deserves!

All those bass cannons consist of, is a small subwoofer mounted inside a tube, which naturally amplifies the sound. Work pretty well in an indoor setting.

Nemesis has some pretty large traditional subwoofers which suit what was the outdoor area pretty well. Far more powerful than those cannons.

That said, those Bass Cannons have such a cool name and look awesome hanging from Infernos station, so I am for them.

 

[djtruefitt]

I imagine the nemesis refurb will just end up with standard Onm speakers dotted around the whole queue line just like Wicker Man.

 

[Alex2020]

I so wish Alton and Merlin would invest in proper audio solutions again for their attractions but sadly it's often not high up on the list for where the budget goes... When Alton/Tussauds exclusively used Bose equipment it provided a consistent audio experience across the park but that's long gone now. Who knows what will happen to the audio system around Nemesis and its queue line but one thing is probably for certain, it won't be Bose and it won't be properly engineered from whichever audio manufacturer they do choose.

 

[Dave]

I so wish Alton and Merlin would invest in proper audio solutions again for their attractions but sadly it's often not high up on the list for where the budget goes... When Alton/Tussauds exclusively used Bose equipment it provided a consistent audio experience across the park but that's long gone now. Who knows what will happen to the audio system around Nemesis and its queue line but one thing is probably for certain, it won't be Bose and it won't be properly engineered from whichever audio manufacturer they do choose.

Again I have no issue with them not using Bose as I have no major love for the brand. What they need is whatever brand they use to ensure they invest in proper set up.

 

[RyanUK]

Apart from the badly done Hex audio overhaul, Ohm do not seem to do any audio solutions for specific audio challenges.

I was last at the park in 2021, were the Hex ones changed then or before? I seem to recall something about the audio not being the same.

Always liked Bose and I guess the parks were my inspiration to buy some speakers for my old computer. But I soon realised the bass adjustment on some models is really limited. Nowadays, I like. B&M. Both my newer computer and car have them built in as standard and boy do they pump out some noise.

 

[DistortAMG]

Hex was changed before. You know Hex us a great example of how not to do audio now either.

Since going to Ohm the Octogan has really awful comb filtering on the sound. This is a highly unwanted effect that destroys sound quality, with the root cause being the complexities and acoustics of the room.

When they 'revamped' the sound system, not only did they replace the old speakers with new ones that are completely the wrong type for a space such as that. They also removed the signal processing which had a complex but very much needed delay and sync system which minimised comb filtering.

Comb filtering is basically when the peak of one wave from one speaker meets the peak of another (or the trough) which has the effect of either doubling the wave or if the troughs meet they cancel each other out. Making sure the audio from all the speakers which are at different distances to you, reach your ears at approximately or as close to the exact same time is a very complex and real issue. Being able to effectively sort issues such as this, is what sets companies apart.

 

[Dave]

Hex was changed before. You know Hex us a great example of how not to do audio now either.

Since going to Ohm the Octogan has really awful comb filtering on the sound. This is a highly unwanted effect that destroys sound quality, with the root cause being the complexities and acoustics of the room.

When they 'revamped' the sound system, not only did they replace the old speakers with new ones that are completely the wrong type for a space such as that. They also removed the signal processing which had a complex but very much needed delay and sync system which minimised comb filtering.

Comb filtering is basically when the peak of one wave from one speaker meets the peak of another (or the trough) which has the effect of either doubling the wave or if the troughs meet they cancel each other out. Making sure the audio from all the speakers which are at different distances to you, reach your ears at approximately or as close to the exact same time is a very complex and real issue. Being able to effectively sort issues such as this, is what sets companies apart.

It’s what sets sound engineers apart, as already said the set-up with Ohm was done in-house.

 

[DistortAMG]

It’s what sets sound engineers apart, as already said the set-up with Ohm was done in-house.

No, it sets the companies apart. Although the Engineers do a play a part.

Ohm don't offer that same service like Bose do. Nothing on the same level.

Bose have in house engineers who Bose have trained on their own products and their capabilities. They then deploy them on projects. Ohm was done in house because you do not get any other option when purchasing with Ohm.

 

[Alex2020]

Don’t get me wrong it’s great to see new audio on Congo River Rapids but surely the park could’ve disguised the speakers better than this:


(Photo credit: Theme Park Worldwide)

The way they’ve just been screwed on top of the rocks here is just awful. Completely ruins the illusion and theming (not like CRR has much of it anymore) It’s like no thought goes into these decisions anymore…

 

[ChristmasPud]

The way they’ve just been screwed on top of the rocks here is just awful. Completely ruins the illusion and theming (not like CRR has much of it anymore) It’s like no thought goes into these decisions anymore…

The weird thing is it shows thought has gone into it, custom building brackets, but to make something so frankenstein and inappropriate. Plenty of better solutions could've been done.

Bolting speakers straight on to scenery (believe it or not the rocks are only there to look good) should never be signed off.

Good idea to add audio to the rapids, but carried out so inappropriately for a theme park.

 

[Islander]

That’s laughable. And as for “good to add audio…” yes, but that assumes these are going to play anything more than “stay seated”.


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