Inside FISE: Audio to the extreme

The world’s biggest urban sports festival, FISE (Festival International des Sport Extrêmes), used over 200 CODA audio units for the 2025 edition for the over 300,000 spectators who love sports on the extreme edge of the spectrum. Covering a huge range of intense sports such as parkour, skateboarding, and BMX, the army of units from CODA Audio Systems was deployed to cover the huge festival site in Montpellier, France.

In its 28th year, FISE worked with the event technology company Concept Group to organise the festival’s audio infrastructure. With eight Fields of Practice covering each of the distinct urban sports, the CODA units had to live up to the appropriately extreme task of ensuring each part of the site brought powerful and clear sound for the crowds, regardless of the event’s location on the site and which sport was being performed.

The audio requirements were multifaceted, focusing on high-impact energy for the performances while maintaining clear speech intelligibility. This involved mixing sets from DJs and MCs, who were responsible for rallying the crowd and playing tracks selected by the riders, alongside the precise delivery of announcements across all eight zones.

Concept Group deployed a hugely ambitious 200-plus CODA Audio loudspeaker units across the site. The inventory covered front-of-house reinforcement as well as monitoring for competitors, DJs, and MCs.

The system included a large number of line array elements, specifically 24 AiRAY and 48 ViRAY units, alongside various point sources such as HOPS12, HOPS8, and APS units. Bass extension was handled by a combination of APS Sub, SCV, SCP, and SC2 subwoofers. The entire system was powered by 15 CODA Audio LINUS T-RACK touring racks. Each rack contained three LINUS14D amplifiers.

“For an event of this size, it was important that all the loudspeakers and amplifiers were of the same brand for ease of use and unity of process in terms of network, flow, and configuration,” explains Steeve Thimpont of CODA Audio France. “Concept Group has a long history with CODA Audio and has the inventory to match this demanding brief. CODA’s sound quality, reliability, and compact size were all major benefits in this application.”

The system design and acoustic management were handled using CODA Audio’s proprietary System Optimiser prediction software, proving essential during the planning phase to ensure comprehensive coverage across the site and audience areas. During the festival, all amplifiers were connected to a single network, which allowed the technical team to use the LINUS Control software for real-time control, monitoring, and precise adjustment of local areas throughout the entire site.

“The systems performed brilliantly throughout the course of the five days, helping to create an amazing atmosphere at this spectacular event,” Concept Group engineer Loïc Riviani enthuses. “As well as delivering fantastic audio from such compact boxes, the systems stood up to non-stop use and the intense heat without any problems. Everyone on the technical side was delighted with the exceptional quality and high performance of the systems, which perfectly complemented the adrenaline-filled action on the stages.”