What started out in a church hall is now one of the go-to events of the year if you are a serious gamer. The Insomnia Gaming Festival started from very humble beginnings when a handful of enthusiasts decided to meet up in a local hall with their consoles and simply hooked up.
20 years down the line and organisers now book the Birmingham NEC to house up to 50,000 fans and players who descend on the hottest gaming event in town. Even with those kinds of numbers attending, it is hard to think there will be much of a need for noise monitoring; after all, isn’t gaming a relatively quiet and solo activity? Not so, gamers are just like any other enthusiast with expectations getting higher with every event.
Over the course of the four days and three evenings, new innovations and ideas have been introduced at Insomnia to keep the fans coming back for more. As well as the obvious gaming activity and the chance to meet the online gaming superstars, this year featured, in addition to the traditional ‘pub quiz’ night there was a music night with five bands or DJ sets and on the Sunday a full concert orchestra with choir playing key theme tunes from Zelda.
“To say it was the best Insomnia event ever is a claim that is very easy to make.”
That’s where the Cirrus’ Optimus Industrial sound level meter came into its own.
Jon Sullivan, Multiplay’s Health and Safety Manager explained: “We used the Optimus to verify the noise levels at the rehearsals and sound checks were in line with our planned limits of 140 dB(C) peak. It was surprising how loud the sound levels could get from the system that was installed even in the set up when many people wouldn’t have thought it was an issue with frequencies they could feel more than they could hear.
“With approximately 40 staff and contractors working in the hall and a limit of 4,800 guests the noise levels had to be considered both for work and entertainment/ licence reasons.
“To say it was the best Insomnia event ever is a claim that is very easy to make.
“With so much going on during the evenings to keep people entertained we wanted to ensure full control of noise levels, both front and back of house. The Optimus data enabled me us to have independent verification. I conducted sound level checks every 15 or 20 minutes and the peak levels came in at 132.7dB(C) Peak.
“It was useful to have the on-going data so I could just turn to the sound engineer and get it dialled down if necessary.”
“It was very reassuring to know that our planning and preparation worked and the data confirmed that our commitment to noise levels, particularly with the music, were upheld.
“We issued hearing protection to all the staff but even using those I could feel the effects of the music so it was very worthwhile.”
Jon also found the supplied NoiseTools software was simple to download data from and check as the events unfolded. “It was useful to have the on-going data so I could just turn to the sound engineer and get it dialled down if necessary,” he added.
When at multiple venues, Jon also needed a sound level kit that was simple to use and transport from site to site. “The ease of use for the Optimus was fantastic, you hit one button and then go live. It is compact and intuitive to use – it’s a real professional bit of kit that allows me to do my job.” He concluded.
Jon now plans to use the Optimus Industrial at other events Multiplay are involved in, including four Brick Live (Lego) events across the UK, newly added to Multiplay’s portfolio for 2017.
Cirrus Products Used in This Case Study
Available as a Class 1 or Class 2 instrument, the Optimus+ Industrial integrating sound level meter is ideal for occupational noise exposure assessments in the workplace.
NoiseTools is our licence-free noise measurement database, supplied as standard with our sound level meters, noise dosimeters, and noise measurement kits, to help you manage and control noise levels in your workplace or in the environment.
