As part of the expansion and upgradation of the facilities for the devotees at Masjid al-Haram, the Holy mosque at Mecca carried out several improvements and one of the projects was to completely upgrade the Mecca Mokabariah facility’s
audio systems with the latest digital models from Sennheiser. These microphones are being used at all prayer locations around the Kaaba, and in the Mokabariah studios from where all audio content and prayers originating from Mecca are broadcast across the world.
The major advantage of the upgrade has been that though on-going construction relating to the expansion has required shifting of the microphones to locations that are large distances away from the studios, the quality and signal purity remains unaffected as it is now captured digitally. The new system also provides the flexibility of utilizing analogue microphones with the same microphone head.
The installation was undertaken by First Gulf Company (FGC) in collaboration with the Saudi Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) and was carried out with the objective of improving speech intelligibility and providing the highest quality of audio across the holy site.
Orlando Castro, Director of Engineering and Pre-Sales at FGC said, “Daily prayers held at Masjid al-Haram are heard by thousands of Muslims within the mosque and by millions across the world. It was therefore imperative for us to provide the very best audio clarity and the new installation enables exactly this.”
FGC will now work together with Sennheiser to deliver comprehensive systems trainings that will enable the team at Masjid al-Haram to utilize the new system to its utmost potential.
“Through years of experience and practical application, we have found that Sennheiser’s audio solutions meet and exceed the quality, reliability and durability standards demanded by the broadcast industry,” said Castro. “SBC shared this trust in the brand and found the microphones to be fit-for-purpose.”
