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Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi

A digital audio evolution for a Formula One circuit

Yas Marina Circuit hosts the season-ending Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and its sound system dated back to the day the circuit opened in 2010. With the race only a couple of months out, the venue committed to a phased upgrade by gradually replacing the analog backbone, modernize the main grandstand, and keep the circuit running the entire time.

Case Study
Stadium / Arena
Electro-Voice
Dynacord
Middle East
Dante
Multi-zone
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Venue
Yas Marina Circuit
Location
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Install partner
PKE Gulf WLL
Product highlights
Electro-Voice EVH, EVF, EVC loudspeakers, IPX series amplifiers · Dynacord MXE5-64, SONICUE, Praesensa
The venue

A motorsport venue at international standard

Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, UAE, is the iconic, world-class home of the season-ending Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Managed by Ethara, the massive facility welcomes hundreds of thousands of international spectators and global broadcast teams. The audio system that carried events through more than a decade had reached the end of its lifecycle. The upgrade was confirmed only a couple of months before the race, with a phased approach agreed.

“Our objective was to move away from a system that had reached the end of its lifecycle and toward a robust, fully digital platform that could support current operational demands and future expansion. The phased approach allowed us to upgrade critical areas ahead of the Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix while maintaining full operational continuity across the venue.”
Omar NaiemSmart Venues Senior Manager, Ethara
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The challenge

Go fully digital without taking the circuit offline under an unforgiving deadline

The analog backbone installed in 2010 was no longer keeping up with today's requirements of a sound system, so the venue needed a digital platform that could meet modern international sports venue standards and grow with future phases.

The new system needed to deliver perfectly uniform coverage over the roaring engines, and provide track engineers with instant routing flexibility for various international racing formats.

The constraint was operational continuity. PKE Gulf had to replace the legacy analog mixer infrastructure, integrate existing analog amplifiers and loudspeakers across multiple buildings into one IP-networked solution, and deliver against a tight timeframe while the circuit stayed in use.

  • An outdated analog backbone in place

  • A move to a fully digital IP-networked architecture

  • Multi-zone coverage across grandstands

  • Highest routing flexibility

  • Overcoming extreme ambient noise

  • Finding robust equipment for extreme temperatures

  • A tight timeframe ahead of the grand prix

  • No disruption to circuit operations

The solution

One IP-networked multi-zone solution running over Dante audio

For the first phase, 155 weatherized loudspeakers and subwoofers powered by 30 IPX series DSP amplifiers were added to the main grandstand. Flown in vertical clusters from the front lip of the roofline, the Electro-Voice EVH, EVF, and EVC point-source loudspeakers deliver homogenous coverage to every seat.

The primary objective of the phase was a new digital infrastructure. Dante was selected for audio distributio. The combination of IPX amplifiers and MXE5 Matrix Mix Engines managed by SONICUE Sound System Software ensures effective production signal management for audio engineers at the track. A customized SONICUE GUI gives engineers instant signal selection, pre-listening, routing, delay control for lip-sync with video displays, and scene recalls across event stages.

A fully integrated Praesensa public address system ensures clear announcements across the circuit

“The MXE5-64 Matrix Mix Engines and SONICUE Sound System Software were key enablers of the project’s success, allowing the legacy analog mixer infrastructure to be fully replaced while seamlessly integrating existing analog amplifiers and loudspeakers across multiple buildings. This approach ensured a smooth transition to a modern, centrally controlled digital platform without disruption to ongoing operations, while significantly improving flexibility, control, and future expandability.”

Gerald ZakSenior Technical Manager, PKE Gulf WLL
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The result

A centrally controlled digital audio solution ready for whatever comes next

The system was deployed in time for the grand prix. The move to a Dante-based digital backbone improved reliability, monitoring, and operational flexibility, with centralized control and application-specific workflows serving both live event production and day-to-day venue operations.

A Praesensa public address system, buffered from the audio network through a proprietary Dante gateway, broadcasts live and pre-recorded announcements across every zone of the circuit. The digital architecture was designed to accommodate the remaining grandstands and future technologies without reworking the core infrastructure.

  • Fully digital architecture in place for the grand prix

  • Homogenous coverage to every grandstand seat

  • Centralized, Dante-based control and monitoring

  • Clear announcements across every circuit zone

  • A fully scalable, flexible core architecture ready to integrate the remaining north, south, and west grandstands

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