Riedel chooses Sennheiser solutions for the 36th America's Cup

The 36th America's Cup sail, whose production was designed by the joint venture circle-o (Riedel y West4Media), has had microphones Sennheiser Custom made to capture sound from ships.

The engineers of Sennheiser, prior order by the producer circle-o, They designed custom-made waterproof boom microphones for the crews and onboard cameras. How could it be otherwise, these devices could be integrated with the wireless intercom Bolero of Riedel in order to become part of the general communications configuration.

Andreas Sennheiser, co-executive director of the microphone manufacturer, emphasizes that "the America's Cup is a high-tech race that subjects both the teams and the equipment to the toughest tests. In addition, it is further proof that sports broadcasts are a true engine of innovation."

For its part, Thomas Riedel, CEO and founder of Riedel Communications, adds that "decades of experience in the most demanding production environments culminated in this very special project with very special challenges. Together with our partner suppliers, all of whom represent the global standard in their fields, our team created a seamless production infrastructure that allowed circle-o to take its live coverage to new and exciting levels. Their impressive coverage opened up completely new perspectives on sailing and perfectly illustrated the great impact that technology can have on entertainment formats and the tangibility of sporting events."

Based on MKE 2

Michael Horn, responsable del Centro de Competencia de Sennheiser para diseño mecánico y acústico, lideró el equipo que desarrolló la solución. El equipo final entregado, el cual se basa en el micrófono omnidireccional MKE 2, incluye un micrófono de transmisión profesional (respuesta en frecuencia de 20 Hz – 20,000 Hz) con una cápsula protegida contra el agua por un diafragma de paraguas que se extiende sobre un diafragma acústicamente activo. Además, la cápsula viene equipada con una rejilla protectora que permitía que el agua goteara sin entrar en el micrófono.

Another crucial element is its windproof, built with a “special” foam material that allowed it to continue protecting against the wind, despite being wet. The microphones finally reached IPX7 protection class. On the other hand, thanks to their elastic suspension, the microphones were insensitive to any structure noise, regardless of whether they were used in the headset configuration or as ambient microphones.

Horn relata su experiencia al frente del proyecto: “Cuando Riedel se puso en contacto con nosotros sobre su concepto para la Copa América, quedó claro de inmediato que cualquier micrófono a bordo de los barcos de regata tenía que soportar condiciones marinas realmente extremas, sumergiéndose completamente en agua y tener que lidiar con el fuerte ruido del viento”.

"The interaction of all its components is what makes this microphone so special. Other models can withstand some splashes or even the odd splash, but this microphone is the one. It simply works, regardless of whether it is dry or wet, providing captivating live audio from the boats and facilitating communications within the teams," concludes the engineer.