Audio installations and upgrades within large sports facilities present sound designers with several challenges, starting with scale — not just the vast, open-air or cavernous spaces, but the challenge of delivering an acceptable listening experience to everyone occupying all those seats and synchronizing the audio with today’s big video screens. Reverberation and intelligibility are huge challenges, particularly for enclosed spaces. Another significant factor that has to be considered is the exuberance of the fans themselves, and the need for the P.A. system to be heard above crowd noise that can peak at 105 dB or more. Last but not least are the challenges of getting the entire installation performed correctly, safely, on time and on budget, when those two invaluable commodities — time and money — are so often in scarce supply.
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, CA
The Oakland—Alameda County Coliseum, currently also known as the O.co Coliseum, is the last remaining multi-purpose stadium in the U.S. to host both MLB baseball (the Oakland Athletics) and NFL Football (The Oakland Raiders). Other “cookie cutter” dual-sport stadiums that proliferated in the 1960s and 1970s suffered the same fate as amphibious passenger vehicles — however versatile, they’re simply unable to outperform purpose-built alternatives. And even the Oakland Coliseum’s status as the last major league dual-sport stadium is not assured.
Despite measures taken to cater to each sport’s needs (including expensive seasonal retrofits to the stadium’s seating configurations) the Oakland Raiders, who have called San Francisco and Los Angeles home as well as Oakland, face yet another possible change in venue after the current lease with the Coliseum expires at the end of 2013.
For the more immediate future, regardless of that uncertainty, stadium management needed a sound system that would address any deficiencies. They hired Quality Sound of Stockton, CA for a new speaker system that would complement the stadium’s main speakers.
Quality Sound, in turn, sought out weatherproof gear from One Systems to complement the main speaker system for the stadium, which can accommodate up to 63,026 fans.
As a high-noise sports and live music venue, the sound system needs to be able to deliver both music and spoken word program material effectively. It also needs to serve changing configurations of seating, depending on the season.
For the latest upgrade to the main sound system, which is comprised of older Turbosound components that have been enhanced over the years with new drivers and amplifiers (Lab.gruppen and QSC), Quality Sound opted for One Systems 108IM/70 speakers based on their sound quality, proven weatherproofing and value.
“There was a need to incorporate different voice and music settings depending on usage,” said Quality Sound AV design and sales manager Don Otomo. “One Systems models carry voice and music material from the main PA and act as a supplement for live-music concerts, in order to cover the entire coliseum.”
Along with One Systems’ Equivalent Throat horn/driver technology and high-output woofer design, the gear’s resistance to the elements was a key advantage. “We thought we would have to give up sound quality for weatherproofing requirements, but the 108IM/70 provides both. Not only do the speakers deliver top of the line sound and impeccable weatherproofing quality, but the One Systems speakers fit our budget nicely as well.”
Each One Systems speaker is mounted securely with 108IM-U U-Brackets above the first and second floor rear seating areas, providing sound outside of the coverage area of the main speaker system.
Working with project manager Bill Minch of Quality Sound, Otomo designed the system to ensure that it performs to professional sound reinforcement standards. In order to optimize sound quality for fans, Otomo and his team created eight separate delay zones, assuring that the sound is perceived as coming from a single point of origin.
Another new feature associated with the One Systems installation is an ambient microphone, which tracks ambient sound level in the concourse and can increase or decrease the volume for select inputs for gate messages or radio feed zones. Along with the One Systems gear, the stadium also benefits from the recent addition of of Peavey’s MediaMatrix Nion DSP.
LP Field, Nashville, TN
WJHW of Dallas and AVI/SPL of Columbia, MD handled the design and installation of the new sound system at LP Field in Nashville, TN, home of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans, the TSU Tigers, the NCAA’s Music City Bowl and music concerts and festivals including the CMA Music Festival.
Part of a broader $26.8 million AV upgrade that was completed in time for the 2012 football season, the new audio system replaced a point-source PA setup. The new gear installed as part of the upgrade 600 new EAW enclosures and 166 speakers from One Systems.
The AV upgrade included two 157-by-54-foot HD video displays on both the north and south ends of the city- and county-owned stadium, which opened in 1999 on 105 acres across the Cumberland River from downtown Nashville.
EAW provided 96 TT12Si-T64-PL-WP custom-engineered enclosures; more than 360 pieces from the MK Series, including the MK2399-WP, MK8196iPL-WP, MK2366-WP and MK2364-WP; and 84 units from the QX Series, including the QX564-WP and QX544-WP. EAW also coordinated the delivery of all custom gear to meet AVI-SPL’s tight installation schedule.
“When we say EAW delivered, we mean that literally,” said Mark Graham, an associate at WJHW who led the audio system upgrade’s design team. He credited EAW with providing “exactly what we needed.”
The custom gear included EAW TT12-Si-T64-PL-WP systems that provide coverage for areas shadowed by the mezzanine; they were designed specifically to fit beneath a shallow overhang along the back few rows of the lower deck and rear handicap platforms.
In addition, EAW TT212 Steering Woofer systems were designed to work with QX Series modules along the upper-deck fascia to create end-fired arrays that direct more of the TT212’s low-frequency energy down towards the seats in front of them and away from the hard-surface walls they are mounted near to minimize reflections.
The EAW gear is complemented by One Systems gear chosen for the east and west concourses, which have overhead cover, but are open air, and for the north concourse, which is completely open.
The 166 One Systems speakers includes 146 106IM/70s, eight 108IM/70s and twelve 112IM/70s, all mounted with the company’s stainless steel U-Brackets.
The 106IM/70s and 108IM/70s are installed on the stadium’s main concourses surrounding its 60 concession areas. The 112IM/70s are installed adjacent to the stadium’s entrances.
Along with AVI/SPL, the AV installers working with WJHW, local installer Amprite worked on the project.
EverBank Field, Jacksonville, FL
EverBank Field has been home to the NFL Jacksonville Jaguars and host to NCAA Football’s Gator Bowl since opening in 1995. The 84,000-seat stadium recently updated its audio system with JBL VLA line arrays from Harman.
EverBank Field’s Spectacor Management Group (SMG) hired Sowden and Associates (Fort Worth, TX), to design and oversee the installation of the new audio system. Florida Sound Engineering Company (Jacksonville, FL) handled the installation of both the new main system along with a comprehensive AV upgrade within the player locker rooms.
Christopher “Topper” Sowden, principal consultant at SMG, oversaw the design of a distributed line array system where VLA loudspeakers are mounted to eight lighting structures that have been built behind the stands around the stadium. These line arrays are aimed at low-grazing angles of incidence into the seating space from behind the spectators.
“Considering that EverBank Field is a large, open and relatively shallow oval, we agreed that a distributed line array approach would provide a noticeable enhancement to the fans’ audio experience in the bowl,” said Sowden. Working with Florida Sound Engineering along with JBL senior application engineer Brad Ricks, Sowden chose the JBL VLA speakers for “their frequency response and ability to deliver high-impact sound over large throw distances.”
Eight of the 12 arrays were initially installed, with the remaining four arrays earmarked for installation in 2013. Each of the four speaker clusters on the sides of the stadium includes three VLA Series VLA601-WRX loudspeakers and one VLA901-WRX loudspeaker, along with two PD Series PD5212/64-WRX loudspeakers and one PD5212/95-WRX loudspeaker. The four end zone clusters each feature three VLA Series VLA601-WRX loudspeakers, one VLA901-WRX loudspeaker, with one PD5212/64-WRX and one PD5212/95-WRX loudspeaker.
Set up in this configuration, the design relies upon the VLA speakers to deliver a combination of high energy with increased low- and high-frequency response, evenly covering all seating areas, all the way to the front row of the stands. Sowden noted that the rigging for the speakers, borrowed from touring show productions, eased and accelerated the installation of the gear. “The arrays were developed using a road show rigging concept that allowed their installation using either a 150-foot crane or two chain motors,” he noted. “Each cluster only took about an hour to mount.”
“Because the lighting structures are forward from the upper deck rear seating rows, we covered that area with 32 JBL AM7212/26-WRX high-power 2-way speakers on poles behind the last row of seats, which we chose because of their extremely wide horizontal angle of coverage,” Sowden continued. “We also installed 52 JBL AW295 speakers below the edge of the upper deck to cover areas of the lower deck that were shadowed from the main system.
“The combination of speakers and deployment gave us the ideal combination of sonic attributes to achieve exactly the sound coverage and musical quality we needed,” Sowden added. “The team is happy, the owner is happy, and the patrons get their socks knocked off. It’s like sitting in your living room listening to a high-quality audio system, except you’re there with 84,000 of your close friends.”
Florida Sound Engineering also helped the new owners of the NFL Jacksonville Jaguars update the player locker room and nearby facilities with a new AV system that makes use of the Jupiter 8 app-based turn-key DSP from Symetrix, led by FSE senior project manager Neil Cooper. He credited the DSP system as “powerful and easy to set up.”
Joe W. Brown Memorial Park, New Orleans, LA
A $23 million renovation at Joe W. Brown Memorial Park, an amateur sports complex for youth that sat under several feet of brackish water after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, includes a new football field and a multi-purpose field with eight-lane running track. The separate-but-similar systems for the outdoor sports fields rely on Ashly gear for processing, amplification and user control
Technical Services Group (TSG) oversaw the installation of new sound gear used for the outdoor sports areas, with a funding assist from Nike, Allstate Sugar Bowl and Brees Dream Foundation. Use of the complex is governed by the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission (NORDC), area schools and community groups.
“I grew up in New Orleans, and I played high school baseball at Joe Brown Park,” said Patrick Meek, vice president of sales and marketing at TSG, who, together with AV designer, Scott Richard, won the bid and saw the project through to completion.
Because teachers, park officials and others without extensive audio system experience are the ones who need to operate the two outdoor PA systems, TSG provided an Ashly RW-8C four-gang wall plate with eight programmable channel faders and a programmable master fader, each with an on/off button.
“The two systems operate as equals from the user’s perspective,” said Meek. “They can walk into either one and understand that the various available microphones and input sources, all labeled on the RW-8C, can be turned on or off and turned up or turned down. Behind the scenes, the processing, amplification, and loudspeakers are different between the two systems, but that’s invisible to them.”
The football field uses an Ashly ne24.24M processor configured with 12 inputs and eight outputs. A Denon CD player joins two Sennheiser HMD-Series headset microphones, a handheld Sennheiser e 935 microphone for vocals and two Lectrosonics Venue-Series wireless microphones (a belt-pack transmitter lavalier system) and a handheld microphone transmitter at the inputs. Three QSC ISA-Series amplifiers power a Community array composed of two R2-77z, two R2-94z, and two R2-52z loudspeakers.
For the track and multi-purpose field area, for soccer and other sports, TSG’s setup includes an Ashly Pema 8250.70 amplifier/processor together with a Protea processing-equipped Ashly ne2400.pe for both signal conditioning, mixing, and power. As with the football field, the system includes a Denon CD player allows for music playback, a Sennheiser HMD-Series headset, and a wired Sennheiser e935 microphone provides input for vocals. But for the track field, those inputs are joined by Sennheiser ew-Series wireless lavalier and handheld microphones. Two Community R.5-66TZ and two Community R.5-94TZ loudspeakers complete the system.
Spartan Stadium, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Anthony James Partners and Pro Media/UltraSound designed and installed a new sound reinforcement system for Michigan State University’s Spartan Stadium, which has expanded from the 14,000-capacity stadium built in 1923 to accommodate as many as 80,000 football fans in its current configuration.
Along with a new 5,412 square foot video board at its south end and two auxiliary video boards at its north end, Spartan Stadium was recently updated with a new sound reinforcement system centered on Danley Sound Labs loudspeakers and subwoofers.
Apart from fills, six Danley Jericho J3s covers the stadium, enabling announcements to be heard above the considerable crowd noise generated by cheering fans.
Led by director of audio engineering Larry Lucas, Anthony James Partners designed Spartan Stadium’s new sound reinforcement system. Pro Media/UltraSound installed it under the guidance of senior designer and engineer Demetrius Palavos, who managed the project. The Danley Jericho J3 became available during design.
Whereas Spartan Stadium’s previous sound reinforcement system resided in the south end zone, Lucas designed the new system to fire only from the north end.
“Previously, additional energy spilled out of the north side and into the community of East Lansing,” explained Lucas. “By placing all of the loudspeaker elements at the north side, we could be sure that any excess energy would spill out onto the campus instead.”
Lucas’ design used the two smaller score boards on the north side as rigging points for Danley Jericho J3s and TH-812 subwoofers; they are about 200 feet apart. “Firing 500 to 600 feet to the south end zone seating was the most complicated and difficult throw,” said Palavos. “It’s a balancing act to get that right, and to still get even coverage and SPL at mid-field, beneath the clusters and the upper deck.”
On both the northeast and northwest scoreboards, a mirror image pair of stacked Danley Jericho J3s handles the far throw, whereas a single J3 handles the intermediate throw for the near- and medium-sideline stands.
On each scoreboard, three vertically stacked Danley TH-812 subwoofers collapse the low-frequency beam to provide throw. Ten smaller Danley SH-46 loudspeakers provide fill for areas on the north side of the stadium that are in the “shadows” of the larger boxes, such as very near the scoreboards and under the near balconies.
The system’s front end is straightforward. A Yamaha LS9 provides user control of input source selection and volume. Its output feeds a pair of Peavey MediaMatrix NION processors with Dante cards, which in turn feed HP ProCurve network switches over fiber. At each scoreboard, Lab.gruppen 7000- and 9000-series amplifiers power the Danley TH-812 subwoofers (with crossovers provided by the MediaMatrix NIONs) and the Danley SH-46 full-range loudspeakers.
Prior to amplification for the Danley Jericho J3s, signal first enters a Danley DSLP48 processor. “In its processor, Danley has optimized the crossovers and processing necessary to get the very best performance from the J3,” explained Palavos. “You can’t really recreate that in another manufacturer’s processor.”
All rack equipment is housed in environmentally controlled conditions, which include both air-conditioning and heat. “Michigan starts its season humid and hot and ends it cold and snowy,” observed Palavos. An analog backup over fiber allows the system to operate even if the MediaMatrix NION or its Dante network go down.
Although never easy, Palavos credited the Danley system for being easier than most to fine-tune. “In such a complex environment, having a well-designed and engineered product is essential,” he said. “Danley does a good job of engineering up front, which means there is less time required at commissioning to get the system optimized.
“One of the surprises to the MSU staff was that the quality of their source material needed to be improved,” Palavos continued. “With the previous system, they couldn’t hear what was lacking. But with the new Danley system, it was obvious.”
Early reports indicate that the system measures +/- 3dB to each of the nearly 80,000 seats, a testament both to the Danley Jericho J3’s accuracy and to the skill of Lucas, Palavos, and their colleagues.
Memorial Stadium, Berkeley, CA
Memorial Stadium at the University of California, Berkeley was the first sports facility to install Meyer Sound’s beam-steering CAL column array loudspeakers.
The stadium, which opened in 1923, was designed to emulate the look of the ancient Coliseum in Rome, and has since emerged as a site of considerable architectural interest itself, earning a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.
Along with their discreet looks, the speakers were chosen for their promise at directing high speech intelligibility where it was needed — in the 63,000-capacity stadium’s seating area — without disturbing nearby residences, or creating problems with referee mics on the playing field.
Dallas-based Wrightson, Johnson, Haddon & Williams (WJHW) designed the system as part of the $321 million, two-year upgrade project at the venerable stadium, home of the California Golden Bears college football team.
WJHW’s John Kosco, working with WJHW principal Jack Wrightson, specified 38 of the 10-foot-high CAL 96 loudspeakers to appear around the stadium’s outer rim. Two additional CAL 96 loudspeakers are mounted facing the student section to pump up the crowd.
For the stands below the stadium’s new press box, WJHW specified Meyer Sound MSL-4, UPM-1P, and UPJ-1P VariO loudspeakers. For the University Club, under-scoreboard and club level sections, there are MM-4 and MM-4XP self-powered loudspeakers and additional UPM-1P loudspeakers. Galileo loudspeaker management systems with three Galileo 616 processors provide signal drive and alignment.
Parsons Technologies of Minneapolis, MN, with Jasyn Rousselow serving as lead sound integrator and Rich Norby as crew chief, handled the installation for the audio upgrade, which included more than 200 Meyer Sound loudspeakers in all.
WJHW’s Wrightson is pleased with the performance of the installed system. “We measured an STI-PA average at 0.70 throughout the seating bowl, which is exceptional for a football stadium,” he noted.
“From an architectural viewpoint, we loved it,” added Joe Diesko, vice president at lead architects HNTB, who served as project manager for the architectural team. “The CAL solution was just brilliant. They look great, and they sound fabulous.”
Designed by John Galen Howard, Memorial Stadium was dedicated to students, alumni, and other Californians who had sacrificed their lives in World War I.
Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark
Parken Stadium is Denmark’s national soccer stadium, home to the FC Copenhagen soccer club. Built between 1990-1992, it currently has a capacity of 38,065 (for soccer games) although for other events, the stadium can hold as many as 50,000 people with an end-stage setup and 55,000 with a center-stage setup. In 2006 and 2007, the club qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in its history, and three years later became the first Danish club to ever reach the stage of the Champions League.
Keeping pace with the club’s success, the Parken Stadium has been equipped with a revamped infrastructure that includes an upgraded audio system. The Danish company Nordic Sales (part of the Matrix Group) delivered and installed a premium RCF loudspeaker system, working in close collaboration with the RCF project department, who specified the individual products, documentation, acoustic simulation and measurements.
“We have already received positive feedback from many people who say how impressed they are with the ‘new’ sound,” said Lars Bo Baadsgaard of Nordic Sales, crediting RCF for the quality of its gear and its support. “With their knowledge of stadium installations, and particularly their recent experience with the new Juventus Stadium,” a 41,000-capacity soccer stadium in Turin, Italy, “we knew we could rely on their guidance.”
To cover the site, Nordic Sales specified 42 RCF Acustica H1315 WP, along with 18 RCF P4228 and 12 RCF H6045 fiberglass long-throw horns.
Each cluster contains three of the H1315 WP, a three-way full range loudspeaker system that incorporates a 15” LF transducer, a 10” cone MF transducer and a 1.4” exit titanium compression driver. It is especially designed to withstand exposure to weather without damage or loss of function to the speakers.
In addition, the RCF P4228 speakers have been installed to cover selected areas of the tribunes. This weatherproof, full range, wide-dispersion, two-way loudspeaker system offers substantial power and efficiency for a variety of professional indoor or outdoor applications. The HF section is a constant directivity CMD horn loaded with a 1.4” RCF Precision Neodymium compression driver with a 2.5” diaphragm assembly for smooth, wide dispersion. The low-frequency transducer is a double 8” woofer with a 2.5” voice coil.
Finally, the RCF H6045 fiberglass horns are equally designed to withstand all weathers and offer high sound reproduction quality and sound pressure levels. These horns are used as a separate evacuation set-up, which can be automatically activated if special alert messages are required, or as a safety back up for the bigger H1315 WP system
The total speaker set-up is controlled by a specially-designed system, where each section of the tribune (or groups of speakers) can be individually controlled, with its routing quickly reconfigured, and status of the separate audio lines monitored.
Another feature is that in the event of power failure the system can run in “battery mode,” so that alerts can still be flagged in the event of an evacuation procedure being required.
Besides being the home base for FC Copenhagen and the national soccer team, Parken Stadium is also used for hosting big events and concerts etc. In fact the new audio system has already proved its worth at several such events.
Quadricentennial Pavilion, University of Santo Tomas, Manila, The Philippines
To celebrate 400 years, the University of Santo Tomas here constructed a sports complex that includes a 54,000-square-foot, 5,792-capacity gymnasium.
Makati City, Philippines-based Crystal Audio, led by Kevin C. Malupa, operations manager, designed and installed the new sound system for the multi-purpose space. Crystal Audio provided Adamson’s SpekTrix line arrays, configured as six main hangs of speakers and subwoofers (with a 4:1 ratio), along with four supplementary trapezoidal fill boxes used for the center of the court.
The Quadricentennial Pavilion replaces a previous sports complex, and is now home to the university’s sports teams along with a dance troupe and clubs for fencing, badminton, judo and taekwondo.
The ground level has retail space for banks, restaurants and other retail businesses. The first floor houses a two-level fitness center adjacent to a gymnastics room. The third level features a two-lane oval track around the inside perimeter of the building.
For the Pavilion’s main attraction — the multi-purpose gymnasium —retractable bleachers at courtside allow room on the floor for staging and a podium, which helps the space transform from an indoor sporting venue into a performance venue or hall for graduation ceremonies.
Crystal Audio found Adamson’s SpekTrix line array to be well-suited to the venue’s occasional high-SPL needs. But while loud enough for rock concerts, the compact dimensions also keep line of sight obstructions from the audience seating areas to a minimum.
The original sound design started with six flown arrays, each with a single SpekTrix sub flown above six 5° SpekTrix loudspeaker enclosures below.
But after some acoustical testing, the SpekTrix loudspeakers provided ample enough coverage to allow for a smaller number of total loudspeaker enclosures. Instead of the 1:6 sub/speaker ratio, the arrays were configured with a 1:4 ratio, significantly reducing the project’s overall costs.
The six flown arrays are configured with two arrays at opposite ends facing out and four arrays along the court’s length, placed left and right of the center.
Four supplementary trapezoidal fill boxes were used to flood the center of the court.
The FOH control position is located above one of the entrances to the space, to the upper level of the seating area. A cable tray was installed along the underside of the catwalk leading directly to the FOH to keep all unsightly cables hidden from the players and spectators. The tray also keeps cables organized and easily identifiable to those tasked with routine repairs or future upgrades.
Mullins Center Arena, UMass, Amherst, MA
Located on the University of Massachusetts-Amherst campus, the William D. Mullins Memorial Center Arena is home of the Minutemen basketball and ice hockey and Minutewomen basketball teams, as well as hosting concerts and other events. The 10,500-seat venue recently replaced its 20-year-old installed PA with a new QSC Audio ILA System.
The new system includes 72 WL2082-i line array elements and 12 WL118-sw subs driven by 22 PowerLight 3 Series PL340 amps, all under the control of two Q-Sys Core 250i units with a Q-Sys I/O Frame.
The sound system was designed by Acentech and installed by North American Theatrix, working with McPhee Electric.
“I created a model of the space in EASE, and discovered our initial choice was not going to work. Even doubling our initial choice would not give us the coverage we needed,” said Acentech consultant Scott Jordan. “The hunt was to find a loudspeaker that would give us the necessary wide vertical coverage, keep the weight in check and fit within our budget. I took a look at the QSC ILA product. Once the loudspeakers were put in the EASE model, it was clear these enclosures would do what I needed them to do. The price point also allowed us to add additional enclosures, while staying well within our original budget.”
According to Pat Nelson, of North American Theatrix, “probably the most rewarding part of this project was when we first fired up the QSC system — it sounded amazing right out of the box,” he said, “and it worked just as predicted.”
The new system also includes a Yamaha LS932 digital mixing console fitted with CobraNet output cards feeding the two Q-Sys Core 250i processors installed 400 feet away in the gridwork high above the floor alongside the PL340 amplifiers.
As for intelligibility, “it’s a concrete hockey rink and we’re getting STI [Speech Transmission Index] levels of 0.54 or better — that’s considered good to very good, and well within what we expected,” Jordan adds. “There is no shortage of output, either. We achieved 112 dB, and still had headroom.”
“The client was very happy,” Nelson concludes. “The coverage sounds very even, all the way from the first row of seats to the very upper nosebleed seats. That’s a great accomplishment.”
Assembly Hall, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
Sweetwater and All Pro Sound collaborated recently on an all-new sound system at Assembly Hall, home of the Indiana Hoosiers basketball team, located on the Indiana University campus in Bloomington, IN. This was the first full renovation of the sound system since the venue opened in 1971.
The new audio system, designed by New York-based SIA Acoustics, includes components from Harman’s JBL, Crown and BSS, with additional gear from Renkus-Heinz.
While a job of this scope, from bid to completion, might be expected to take three to six months, the Assembly Hall overhaul was completed in about 30 days. The window to remove the old system and install the new gear was even tighter — just 19 days. And because work had to be performed around the IU practice schedules, that meant 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. night-time shifts.
Along with an extraordinary effort from Sweetwater and All Pro Sound, the project required a coordinated effort with gear suppliers.
“Sweetwater and All Pro Sound faced all of the standard logistical challenges that sports arenas present, plus a very short time window in which to finish the installation,” noted Sam Berkow, founder of New York-based SIA Acoustics. “The result was a system installed on budget and on schedule.”
The venue’s sound system has been praised for a new level of intelligibility, with all-new speakers, amplifiers and signal-processing units. The 90 speaker setup includes six JBL Vertec VT4888DP self-powered line arrays, four subwoofer arrays, five BSS BLU160 audio processors, Crown CTS and Crown I-Tech amplifiers and a Presonus StudioLive 24.4.2 24-channel digital mixer. A LynTec Sequential Power System was added to provide clean power to the entire system.
“Our state-of-the-art sound system will greatly enhance the event experience for our fans,” said Fred Glass, vice president and director of Intercollegiate Athletics at Indiana University.
“With Fort Wayne, IN, being the home of Sweetwater, I felt a particularly strong desire to see the sound system in this incredible sports facility be installed by an Indiana company,” added Sweetwater founder and president Chuck Surack. “From sales to merchandising, our team worked around the clock to put together a winning bid. And with our existing relationship with All Pro Sound, plus our partnerships with audio manufacturers, we knew that, together, we would be able to meet the many challenges this huge project presented.”
Vision Center, Bethel Baptist Church, North Wilkesboro, NC
Bethel Baptist Church in North Wilkesboro, NC recently expanded with its new Vision Center, a space with enough interior square footage to house additional Sunday school rooms, some office space, a large kitchen and multi-purpose fellowship area and stage.
Tony Parker, co-owner of Parkers Productions, designed and installed a new audio system for the Vision Center that includes Tannoy QFlex gear along with Roland’s M-300 digital V-Mixer and a 4000-S Digital Snake.
Because the room hosts everything from theatrical performances on a large, recessed stage to basketball games, the new audio system needed to be able to accommodate an assortment of live events. This space has characteristics typical of gymnasiums — a 28-foot ceiling, metal roof, tile floors, plenty of hard surfaces and no acoustic treatment to speak of.
“We knew there would be serious acoustic challenges to overcome,” said Parker. “We immediately thought of QFlex from Tannoy. The ability to control the sound and focus it in the desired areas was going to be key.” Parker specified that two self-powered QFlex 24 loudspeakers be wall mounted to the left and right of the stage, approximately 12 feet off the ground.
The QFlex 24s, which measure just under five feet in height, are no more than seven inches wide. Yet each QFlex 24 is loaded with eight 4-inch low-frequency drivers, eight 3-inch low frequency drivers and eight 1-inch high frequency drivers. This lets the speakers deliver ample audio coverage with minimal visual impact.
For low-end support, Parker specified two powered subwoofers to be installed behind reinforced screen cloth under the stage.
With a horizontal dispersion of up to 120 degrees, Parker utilized Tannoy’s VNET software to focus the output to cover the seating area, maximize the vocal intelligibility and minimize the room reverberation.
“The sound quality and control of the new system is amazing,” said Michael Byrd, sound engineer at Bethel Baptist Church, noting how Parkers Productions was able to program the output from the Qflex to keep the sound off the walls. “Since the install, we have had many comments from people within the congregation complimenting the sound quality.”
Parker also specified Roland’s M-300 digital V-Mixer and 4000-S Digital Snake, which helps the church sound team quickly set up a FOH position in the center of the room when warranted. When not necessary, that gear is stowed out of the way.
“The Snake makes it as simple as merely unplugging one data cable from one location, moving the portable mix station to the center of the room, and patching the data connection in there,” Parker confirmed.
The scene storage in the M-300 allows the team to save the setting for cantatas and plays for immediate recall and, when that level of control is not required, the mixer can operate in standard mode for play-by-play announcements at athletic events or for use with standard P.A. announcements.
Webster City High School Gym, Webster City, IA
Electronic Sound Company (ESC), a Des Moines, IA-based AV systems integrator, provided a Bose RoomMatch sound system for the gym at Webster City High School in Webster City, IA.
The system includes RoomMatch RM12060 array modules along with configurable Bose PowerMatch PM8500 power amplifiers, RoomMatch RMS215 subwoofer modules and a Bose ControlSpace ESP-00 processor.
The new sound system, along with acoustical treatments also provided by ESC, makes the gym sound more like a concert hall. Recently, the school sought a bigger space for a fundraising concert featuring Iowa-born operatic basso-baritone vocalist Simon Estes. With its new acoustic quality, they were able to shift the performance from the auditorium, which seats only 650, to the new gymnasium, which can seat up to 2,500.
“RoomMatch is the best speaker that I have ever used for control over the sound,” proclaims. “It is a highly controllable speaker.
“In this situation, we needed to keep the sound away from very specific parts of the room, such as the lower parts of the walls, because as a gym we couldn’t put acoustical treatment materials on the first 16 feet of the wall height. So we had to have a sound system that was precisely controllable and highly directional,” noted Al Osborn, CEO of ESC.
Crediting RoomMatch as a “highly controllable speaker,” Osborn also spoke favorably of the Bose ControlSpace ESP-00 processor, which was used on this project as both a DSP processor and a router.
Designed to provide control and audio processing in a single, expandable unit, the ControlSpace ESP (engineered sound processor) offers eight expansion card slots accommodating a range of input/output options, including control via RS-232 and serial over IP, analog audio, AES-3, Dolby Digital, DTS and PCM digital stream formats, as well as CobraNet network audio. It also features an asymmetrical I/O matrix capability where up to 64 digital channels or 32 analog channels can be routed and processed, a function that Osborn used to allow the sound system to operate in specific zones as needed. This further helped control the sound energy in the room, supporting the intelligibility of the sound by minimizing reverberation.
Among their other contributions to the listening experience of those attending Webster City High events, the two RoomMatch RMS215 subwoofer modules helped when Osborn found a recording of what he called “an appropriately angry lynx” that provided the full-throated roar the school was looking for. “The two RoomMatch RMS215 subwoofers are just what they needed to get that extra level of excitement across,” he noted.
