Audio-Technica Microphones Transmit The Atmosphere Of The ESL Intel Extreme Masters 2025

From 7 to 9 February 2025, the 24 best esports teams in the world met at the ESL Intel Extreme Masters in the Spodek Arena in Katowice, Poland.

In cooperation with Audio-Technica, organiser ESL FACEIT Group developed a new recording concept for the livestream broadcast, employing immersive, stereo and shotgun microphones to reproduce the excitement in the arena for an online audience.

In order to offer viewers a truly engaging audio experience, Audio-Technica's BP3600 immersive microphone played a key role in delivering the atmosphere in the arena. Located in the venue’s ceiling, the microphone’s eight hypercardioid capsules allow for capture of realistic, three-dimensional sound in an easy-to-deploy package. The BP3600 was complemented by the use of a quartet of Audio-Technica's respected AT4050ST stereo large diaphragm condensers (also suspended from the ceiling) and 16 BP4025 large-diaphragm X/Y mics (in front of audience) to form a 'sonic bridge' between the arena's diffuse ambient sound and the direct sound of the audience. Thanks to the AT4050ST's M/S capsules, the acoustic characters of both audience and venue could be captured while ensuring that PA crosstalk was minimised by the microphones’ off-axis behaviour.

Finally, Audio-Technica's BP4029 stereo shotgun microphones were used on handheld cameras and the Spidercam to capture the atmosphere directly in the stands.

In order to be able to objectively assess the concept and create a detailed acoustic image of the event, a test control room was set up in the arena specifically for the atmospheric mix. Featuring an Allen & Heath dLive C1500 digital mixing surface with DM32 MixRack, the control room sent the mix from the arena via optical fibre to the ESL studios 15 kilometres away, where it was combined with other signals via an Allen & Heath dLive S5000 surface for the final broadcast mix for the livestream.

"The development of the concept and the great effort put into the placement of the Audio-Technica microphones paid off in the form of an outstanding immersive sound backdrop," said ESL Faceit Group's VP of Production Technology Fabian Leimbach. "Viewers of the live stream were able to experience the ESL Intel Extreme Masters as if they were in the arena themselves. Audio-Technica impressed with its versatile solutions and sophisticated miking, which will also be used for future events worldwide."

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