Super Bowl LVIII: For the First Time, Game and Halftime Show Will Deploy the Same Sound System The sound will be bigger and bassier than ever By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Friday, February 9, 2024 - 9:59 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
When Super Bowl LVIII kicks off on Sunday (broadcast on CBS, streamed on Paramount+, Slimed on Nickelodeon), viewers at home and fans in the stands will hear the game's sound through the same PA system that will amplify eight-time Grammy Award-winner Usher's halftime performance. It's the first time the same temporarily installed music PA system will be used as the sound for both the game's play and the entertainment performances.
ATK Audiotek, acquired by Clair Global in 2021, has designed and managed the halftime show's sound system for 26 years, usually rolling onto the field a separate music-PA system loaded on eight carts. This dedicated system would also be connected to the venue's installed PA system, which would be used as delay speakers to cover the upper reaches of seating, becoming an extension of the temporary music system for entertainment applications.
Multiple-Grammy winner Usher says he has been preparing for his Super Bowl Halftime Show moment for 30 years.
Last year, however, the roll-out grass field at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ, prevented use of the carts: it couldn't be moved fast enough to accommodate the quick change necessary to assemble the performance stage midfield. For the first time, then, ATK had to fly the music system, but it still adhered to the practice of connecting with the stadium's existing installed sound system for delay speakers.
This year, Allegiant Stadium has the same kind of roll-out field, again preventing the use of speakers on carts. In this case, though, ATK will fly an entirely new temporary L-Acoustics K2 system, and it will be used for both the halftime music show and the game's announcements and other sound elements.
We're flying the entire PA again, except this year we're not augmenting the house system, says Kirk Powell, engineer in chief, ATK, who is working his 22nd Super Bowl production. Last year, we augmented what already existed; we just added clusters to the existing system. This year, we flew a completely separate PA system for the first time.
The existing house PA, a JBL VLA system, will be available for emergency paging needs, he adds.
Implementing the temporary sound system had its own challenges, due largely to Allegiant Stadium's roofing, which is made of thin ETFE material. It's a cable-type ceiling, so you're limited in where you can put clusters and things of that nature, Powell explains, adding, The rigging and cable management was also a challenge, as was amplifier placement.
Hip-Hop Takeover Continues In the fourth year of the NFL's multi-year deal with rap mogul Jay-Z and his Roc Nation production company, Usher's show at Allegiant follows Rihanna's appearance at State Farm Stadium; the 2021 show at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa featuring The Weeknd; the 2022 show with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, and Eminem; and the 2020 appearances of Shakira and Jennifer Lopez, with guest appearances by Bad Bunny, J Balvin, and Emme Mu iz at Miami Gardens (a show that earned a Primetime Emmy and four nominations).
As the line-ups suggest, the shows have provided for progressively larger numbers of subwoofers to accommodate the bass-heavy rap and hip-hop genres. That includes 16 L-Acoustics K1 extended-low-frequency boxes and 48 KS28 subs all flown, buttressed by a complement of 16 Clair Cohesion 218 subs on the field. They'll join a system comprising 212 K2 boxes flown from the roof rigging and managed by System Engineer Chris Daniels. Signal distribution will be over a Dante network using Focusrite RedNet D64, D16R, and A16R interfaces. Shure Axient Digital will be the main wireless-microphone system on the field, managed by Cameron Stuckey, RF engineer, Professional Wireless Services.
Quick Switch From Game to Music Although the system is larger than last year's, mainly on the low end, the fact that it will already be in place will help smooth the switch to music for the halftime show. However, it still requires a team of 100-plus temporary audio-team workers to make the system transitions precise. The team will be supporting the core ATK team of Powell, show mixers Alex Guessard and Dave Natale working on a pair of DiGiCo Quantum338 consoles, monitor mixer Tom Pesa on an SD5, and game-sound mixer Jack Bowling on the stadium's installed Yamaha PM3 desk. All are Super Bowl Halftime Show veterans.
The sound system got its first use at Monday's Opening Night event at the stadium, Powell says, where hundreds of media folks interviewed Super Bowl players and coaches in their only public appearance in Las Vegas before Super Bowl Sunday. It was also the only time the two teams would be together in one location prior to taking the field for the Big Game.
He notes that deployment of the NFL OnePass app will allow fans in the stands to tune into any of the dozen podiums in simultaneous use on the field, even as only one of the podiums at any given time could be pumped through the PA system: That's just one more cool way that sound is being used for the Super Bowl. It's another way that fans are engaged.
And viewers can expect a rather sharp halftime show by a performer who's in the middle of his second Las Vegas residency, who says he has studied what has become the ultimate gig in the ongoing convergence between sports and entertainment.
I've watched every performer, analyzing how they maximized those 12 minutes, Usher told Billboard this week, citing Michael Jackson's 1993 performance as the halftime show's inflection
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
18/05/2026
Continued investment across Europe and Germany is expanding local teams and improving access to stock, regional expertise, and specialist broadcast support.
CV...
18/05/2026
Comscore March 2026 Consumer AI Chatbot Usage Rankings Show Claude Gaining Share OpenAI's ChatGPT maintains lead while Anthropic's Claude continues to c...
17/05/2026
Delta Goodrem's Eurovision Eclipse marks end of a stellar run
17 May, 2026
Media releases
Bulgaria wins Eurovision 2026
Relive every spellbinding mome...
16/05/2026
Helps to deliver a clean, balanced midrange
Developed alongside Newfangled Audio, the latest plug-in in Eventide's software collection has been designed...
16/05/2026
Brings onboard stem rendering to RANE System One
Engine DJ have just released Engine DJ 5.0, a free update for their Engine DJ OS embedded hardware and Engi...
16/05/2026
Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls
Jessie Electa Petrov May 16, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic de...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC, in partnership with RAVE Foundation an...
15/05/2026
Dan Brumm has served as sound designer on Bluey, the Australian children's t...
15/05/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are accepting applications for the 6th annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Schola...
15/05/2026
Netflix has announced an expanded NFL schedule for 2026 and beyond under a four-year partnership extension with the NFL through the 2029-30 season. Each season,...
15/05/2026
Ateme is supporting TVRI (Televisi Republik Indonesia) with a contribution and d...
15/05/2026
Concacaf has announced the launch of a new website and mobile app built on Deltatre's FORGE platform. Concacaf.com and the mobile app, available on iOS and ...
15/05/2026
Eutelsat has announced the launch of QBC Business Economic Channel by Qatar Media Corporation, broadcasting in 4K/UHD via Eutelsat's 7/8 West video neighbo...
15/05/2026
Major League Soccer has announced four original content series timed to the 2026...
15/05/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced it will exhibit and present at InfoComm 2026, taking place June 13-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Cente...
15/05/2026
InfoComm 2026 will take place June 13-19 (exhibits June 17-19) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show will include sessions and exhibits covering broadcas...
15/05/2026
Tracy McGrady's Ones Basketball League (OBL) and FuboTV Inc. have announced ...
15/05/2026
Disguise has partnered with Creative Technology (CT) to deliver visual playback ...
15/05/2026
Sony Electronics has announced two new products for professional imaging: the Alpha 7R VI full-frame mirrorless camera and the FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS super-te...
15/05/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
15/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
15/05/2026
For sports organizations, the most valuable assets are often the most sensitive:...
15/05/2026
The NFL's broadcast partners released their 2026 regular season schedules ye...
15/05/2026
When MMA icons Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano meet inside the Hexagon at Intuit Do...
15/05/2026
Daniel Roher attends the Tuner Premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at Eccles Theatre on January 22, 2026 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Neilson Bar...
15/05/2026
Last night, the Spotify Podcast Awards in Mexico returned to the country's capital. Now in its second year, the evening honors creators whose voices are hel...
15/05/2026
Rebranded show announced
Ahead of their 2026 return, Music Expo have announced that they have now officially changed their name to the MONO Music Conference...
15/05/2026
Fuzz pedal joins UK companys line-up
UK-based pedal makers Buzzing Bugs Audio Devices have recently unveiled their latest creation, the Bolster. Said to pay...
15/05/2026
Joint Statement: News Bargaining Incentive
28 April, 2026
Media releases
The vibrancy of Australian democracy relies on the robust and open exchange of new...
15/05/2026
Call it Deltavision, Australia's through to the Grand Final of this year'...
15/05/2026
Join Calrec at MPTS 2026 | May 13-14 | Stand A40 | Olympia, London We're looking forward to meeting up with customers and partners at this year's Media ...
15/05/2026
86% of media planners would move more linear TV budget to CTV if they had show-level targeting and reporting - and 65% would also shift dollars from programmati...
15/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Clear-Com will showcase new communications solutions and major platform updates at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N7005), June 17-19, in the North and Central Halls of t...
15/05/2026
Following an outstanding inaugural year in 2025, Rise AV is proud to announce the return of its flagship leadership initiative, Elevate. The programme continues...
15/05/2026
Berklee Announces Lineup for Inaugural AI Music Summit The three-day event puts musicians at the center of the future of music creation, ethics, and the indus...
15/05/2026
Lightware returns to InfoComm 2026 with a focused showcase of scalable USB-C connectivity, next-generation AV-over-IP solutions, and technologies that help over...
15/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
Super Bowl LVIII: For the First Time, Game and Halftime Show Will Deploy the Same Sound System The sound will be bigger and bassier than ever By Dan Daley, Audio Editor 
