Tag: Sound Reinforcement

Distributed Audio Creates Unique Atmosphere for Christian Visitor Attraction

Dry Gulch USA in Oklahoma Makes Audio Part of the Visitor Experience

The effective use of outdoor audio can put a stamp on the personality of the venue. A combination of high-quality sound, creative programming, and innovative system design and technology helps to create an atmosphere that will stick with visitors long after they depart.

Dry Gulch USA is one venue that has put a great deal of thought into employing an intelligent audio strategy, helping to create a unique and memorable atmosphere. The year-round non-profit campground and retreat center is located one hour northeast of Tulsa, Oklahoma on the shores of Lake Hudson, and owned by Church on the Move of Tulsa.

Established in 1986 as a Christian summer camp for children, Dry Gulch USA is now a multi-purpose facility also offering corporate and marriage retreats as well as Christmas holiday events. The grounds span several hundred acres and include a lake, a 700-seat performance hall, a mini-amusement park, overnight quarters and a Town Square area that is a replica of an old west town.

Audio is essential to communication and entertainment across the grounds. The facility recently initiated a multi-stage project to overhaul its existing outdoor audio systems, which had fallen into severe disrepair over the years.

Two Technomad Berlin loudspeakers broadcast voice and music to the downtown "Town Square" area, which is modeled after an old west town.

“The older audio systems were long neglected and in very poor shape,” said Audio Visual Coordinator Stephen Arruda, who was hired last year to improve AV systems across the board. “The loudspeakers were completely unprotected from the elements. It sounded as if the horns were blown, but instead they were clogged with mud. The magnets were filled with hornet nests and the paper cones were deteriorated. Everything was rendered useless.”

Arruda worked with Ford Audio-Video, a regional design-build contractor, to demonstrate a range of Technomad products to improve the audio presence. The upgrades include a multi-zone networked audio system to deliver voice and music to four distinct areas of the campground, as well as a mix of new loudspeakers from Technomad and JBL that are used both within the multi-zone system and in standalone systems elsewhere on the campground.

“The staff was forced to continually replace drivers and cabinets as the older system gradually deteriorated over the years,” said James Mitchell, Account Manager for Ford Audio-Video. “What they needed was sturdy equipment that could reliably reproduce voice and audio with good quality, yet still handle the volatile Oklahoma weather. The Lake Hudson area weather is especially varied: rain, snow, heat — everything under the sun. The older weather-treated systems failed continually because they couldn’t tolerate the rough weather seasons of northeast Oklahoma.”

“There is a philosophy here to not continue to use equipment if it needs to be constantly repaired,” added Arruda. “We’re spread very thin, and this is a very large campground. A quarter-mile between loudspeaker points is not unusual here, and it’s a waste of time to drive around the grounds constantly repairing equipment. Ford Audio-Video was a big help in demonstrating products that fit within our budget but would produce good audio and be consistently reliable.”

The "Park System" is one of three audio zones featuring Technomad loudspeakers. Here, two Berlin loudspeakers are installed on the rooftop of an arcade. — The Park System is one of three zones featuring Technomad loudspeakers, which were installed in multiple locations where outstanding audio quality and weatherproof characteristics were required. Here, two Berlins are seen installed on the rooftop of the park arcade.

Among Arruda’s chief initiatives was to design a multi-zone system capable of distributing audio over separate channels. The five well-defined zones comprise the “Park System,” and it is intended to produce a unique thematic experience for each zone — noticeable to guests as they move from one zone to the next. The Park System, powered by Furman power conditioning and sequencing products, employs a DBX ZonePro 640 for audio processing and Crown amplifiers to power the audio output.

The DBX ZonePro 640 is fundamental to creating the theme for each zone, entertaining guests with audio customized specifically to match the environment. Arruda assigns CDs, an iPod, and a Sonos wireless music system to deliver music, following a seven-day schedule. The iPod feeds into a Raxxess IRD-1 unit, essentially a docking station that protects the player and interfaces with the ZonePro 640 through a line output.

The Sonos system is more complex, featuring 13 audio players and 10 wireless bridges to extend the reach of the system to certain zones, including the main entrance. The Sonos systems’ Zone Player also provides a single line input to one player, which can be distributed to all locations that contain another Zone Player.

Arruda designed the system so that the ZonePro 640 reduces the main audio when a page or announcement is made over the system. While the audio program is different within each zone, live announcements are distributed to all five zones for the purpose of reaching the majority of visitors and staff.

“There is great significance in being able to communicate important messages to the entire park, whether it’s a simple informative announcement related to a visitor attraction or a true weather-related or other emergency situation,” said Arruda. “The fact that we can do this from a central point and have the messages take priority over the five-channel music output is very valuable. Visitors can hear the important messages across all zones, and then the assigned music for each zone returns immediately following the announcement.”

Several buildings and attractions signify the area around the Park System. This includes The Western Bunkhouse, which serves as the “Main Zone” in the audio distribution system. The “brains” of the Park System is also housed in this zone.

Two Technomad Berlin weatherproof loudspeakers reproduce high-quality audio within the Main Zone. The Berlin model is among the largest and most powerful loudspeakers built by Technomad, and were installed here to cover a very large area both within the park area and its outskirts. Music emanates from the Berlins in between announcements to entertain visitors. The Berlins are installed on the building rooftop for the best possible directivity and projection.

“The Technomad Berlins supply a rich and reliable sound throughout the park area, and are in a perfect location for visitors to hear pages and special announcements,” said Mitchell. “The design was also helpful as it allows for simple rooftop installation without awkward positioning.”

Arruda added that the Technomad design enabled him to mount the loudspeakers in unusual positions without modifications. He installed Berlins on top of two other downtown buildings — Town Hall and the Dining Hall — as standalone systems, using the same unusual mounting techniques.

The Dining Hall features two Technomad Berlin loudspeakers projection audio long distance into the downtown area, setting the atmosphere on Main Street.

“The Berlins have fly points everywhere, and that really helped in these unique rooftop installations where I had to anchor the loudspeakers from below,” he said. “There is no possible way this could have been done with other loudspeakers without drilling into the cabinet and adversely affecting sound quality.”

The second zone is comprised of multiple Technomad Vernal loudspeakers under several building eves in the park area, including bunkhouses for summer camp and retreat guests. The Vernals are the smallest model in the Technomad fleet, but retain the same traits of the Berlin: high audio quality, broad dispersion, weatherproof design and durable construction.

The music in this zone changes to match specific themes, such as during the Christmas Train event. The Silver Dollar Saloon, located in the Town Square of Dry Gulch USA, hosts a live bluegrass band during these events. The music is extended outdoors to the Vernals so visitors can hear the live performance. The usual soundtrack for the entire campground, distributed through the Sonos system, kicks in again once the performance has ended.

The Vernals also provide background music at a third zone by the main entrance, where visitors hear music as they wait in line and enter the park. During events such as the Christmas Train and the annual 4th of July picnic, patrons will hear music themes from the old west before segueing into seasonal or patriotic music. In this case, an iPod distributes separate content while the Sonos system extends the system’s reach up to 1000 feet, linking the entrance music with the rest of the grounds.

Arruda expects to install as many as 40 Vernals throughout Dry Gulch once completed, citing the broad audio coverage as essential to reaching visitors throughout the area. He deployed the Vernals in a 70-volt configuration to effectively reproduce audio across the entire zone, instead of the traditional 8-Ohm configuration. The 70-volt configuration daisy-chains multiple loudspeakers over longer distances than what is possible within 8-Ohm configurations. This will allow Arruda to more easily expand his distributed audio network over time.

Technomad Vernals are installed at multiple= — Technomad Vernals are installed at multiple locations around Dry Gulch, including the main entrance and under building eves in the downtown area. Many are arranged in a 70-volt configuration to enable long-distance signal distribution.

“I learned about the benefits of the 70-volt configuration through Andrew Stone, the front of house engineer at Church on The Move,” said Arruda. “The Vernals include multi-tap connections to chain loudspeakers together, enabling distributed audio over longer distances. We can also set different wattages for better audio control in different areas. It’s a lot easier to modify 70-volt systems and manipulate the sound in different areas, even if the loudspeakers are on the same line. It’s also less labor intensive. You don’t need to provide a home run from every single loudspeaker or pair of loudspeakers back to the signal processing rack.”

The two final zones in the Park System are targeted for completion by the spring of 2009. The fourth zone will feature nine landscaped loudspeakers from Outdoor Speaker Depot in a series of planters outside of Town Square. Each planter includes three OS650 HD True Omni Ground loudspeakers installed in 70-volt configurations. The fifth zone will distribute theme park-style music to up to 12 JBL Control 25T loudspeakers. Many of the loudspeakers are being installed under the bumper car pavilion, and others will be hung near inflatable games and other theme park-style attractions.

“The whole idea of this multi-zone system is to distribute separate styles of music to create a different atmosphere in each zone,” said Arruda. “We didn’t want music floating through the air from a single location. The point is to create an environment that stays with you the entire visit but changes as you enter a different section of Dry Gulch.”

Several standalone audio systems complete the campground-wide audio presence. The Town Hall is a 700-person capacity auditorium with two Berlin outdoor loudspeakers tied to the indoor PA system. The music inside is synchronized to the Berlins to signal the beginning of daily chapel services or other gatherings and events. The signal is produced using a 32-Channel Midas Venice console, processed through a DBX DriveRack 260 and driven by a Crown Com Tech 800 to the two Berlins.

“These Berlins are used solely for the purpose of our Summer Camp sessions,” said Arruda. “The music notifies campers and their counselors when morning or evening chapel services are beginning. The loudspeakers are then muted once everyone is inside the building so other visitors and personnel are not disturbed.”

Two Berlin loudspeakers are also installed on the roof of the Dining Hall. The long-distance audio projection allows staff to project audio down the Main Street area.

“The Dining Hall loudspeakers set the atmosphere for the entire downtown area, which includes Main Street and the Town Square,” said Arruda. “We play old western music throughout the day, like the theme from Silverado. We expect to add Vernals to this building’s lakeside outdoor eating area down the road.”

Dry Gulch USA also just completed construction of the Palace Hotel in Town Square. The hotel is an ideal companion for the Christmas Train event; children have their pictures taken with Santa Claus on the main floor, and the hotel offers rooms for overnight guests. Arruda and his team from Church on the Move installed four Vernal loudspeakers at the Palace Hotel for audio entertainment and announcements.

Although the Dining Hall and the Palace Hotel systems remain standalone for the time being, Arruda envisions eventually tying both sites into the multi-zone system. He has already tied the Sonos equipment to the Palace Hotel system, although the system is processed by a dedicated Zone Pro 640 and driven by a Crown CT 1200 amplifier. Considerations for tying in the Dining Hall system will be made once Vernals are added to the building.

“Before we established the multi-zone audio system, the Dining Hall was the only building where it was possible to hear music from a distance,” he said. “Our strategy is changing now that we have established multiple loudspeaker points with better audio in various areas. We are gradually moving away from standalone systems and toward distributed audio everywhere.”

A similar version of this story appeared in the January 2009 issue of Technologies for Worship.

Technomad Loudspeakers Bring Audio Clarity to Sports Events at Middle Tennessee State University

BOSTON, May 28, 2008-Technomad Associates, LLC today announced that Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) in Murfreesboro, Tenn., has selected Technomad outdoor weatherproof loudspeakers to provide high-quality voice and music for live sports coverage in its new 2,500 seat stadium. The loudspeakers are the crown jewel of the PA system used for soccer games and track and field events, with only two Technomad Berlin loudspeakers required to cover the entire stadium with a smooth, intelligible audio pattern.

Two Technomad Berlin weatherproof loudspeakers provide live event coverage for 2,500 seats in new soccer and track & field stadium

The stadium, home to the MTSU Blue Raiders teams that play in the Division One Sun Belt Conference, is the newest venue within the university’s Murphy Center Complex, which comprises all the athletic venues on campus. According to Josh Hoevelmann, Electronic Equipment Engineer for MTSU Murphy Center, the Technomad Berlin loudspeakers rival the larger PA systems used for the football and baseball stadiums on campus.

Everyone I talk to on campus is surprised at the audio quality and power output we’re achieving from just two loudspeakers, said Hoevelmann. The output is extremely clear even at mid-field, and it’s not overbearing in the stands. The Berlins provide a full range sound with mids and lower levels as opposed to some of our other systems that produce mostly highs in the output.

Hoevelmann and his team built the PA rack and installed the loudspeakers, which were custom-ordered from Technomad in blue to match the team colors that are visible throughout the stadium. The loudspeakers were installed on the opposite corners of the press box exterior to ensure that those at the farthest corners of the field could clearly hear the audio, particularly during track and field events when the attendance can far exceed the official seating. In addition to providing even coverage throughout the stadium, the smooth audio pattern eliminates bleeding into nearby residential neighborhoods an ongoing challenge for the university.

There is residential housing across the street from the complex, and the original design called for installing the loudspeakers in the scoreboard, which faces the neighborhood, said Hoevelmann. We decided to move the installation to the press box, which in theory would still bleed into the neighborhoods, but the Technomads have maintained a good balance of being intelligible to everyone inside the stadium and not killing nearby residents with bleed-over. There have been zero complaints from neighbors unlike in past years.

The loudspeakers sit outside all year unprotected from the elements, which according to Hoevelmann include intense rain and hail in the fall and winter, and high heat in the summer. The weatherproof construction is only one aspect of the design that he and his team have found favorable. The loudspeakers are unconventionally mounted on the press box: Instead of using the supplied mounting brackets, the installation team took advantage of fly points on the Berlins and chained them to a fence sitting atop the press box.

The press box construction did not allow us to use the brackets, but the loudspeakers offer many fly points in the design to use eye bolts for unconventional installations, said Hoevelmann. The design made it very easy to hang the loudspeakers and chain them to the press box fence for a secure installation. The bonus is the blue color choice as installed; they match perfectly to the blue colors in the stadium. The assistant athletic director didn’t event notice them during the initial walkthrough because they blend in so well with the press box.

Henderson State University Installs Technomad

Henderson State University in Arkansas has installed eight Technomad weatherproof outdoor loudspeakers at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium, home of the Henderson State Reddies, a Division II football team. The new loudspeakers, first used at the September 20 home opener, replaced antiquated horn system and improved voice and music intelligibility at the 10,000-seat stadium.

The university purchased six Technomad Berlin 15/H Install loudspeakers and two Technomad Paris 616 loudspeakers. It also purchased two PA racks filled with new mixers, amplifiers, signal processors and other equipment. Four of the Berlin 15/H Install loudspeakers are installed on the press box above the home bleachers, with the other two on poles next to the visitor bleachers. The Paris 616 loudspeakers are installed lengthwise on the ceiling of the press box overhang to provide a direct audio source to the expensive alumni seats underneath. Henderson State University purchased all the equipment and products through Troxell Communications.

The Technomad Berlin and Paris loudspeakers blend exceptionally well, to the point that it sounds like one enormous loudspeaker covering the entire stadium, said Jim Wilhelm, multimedia specialist for Henderson State University. We positioned the four Berlins on the press box so the middle two are pointing straight ahead and the far left and right loudspeakers are at a 45-degree angle. I wanted to ensure that those seated in the far upper corners are hearing the same quality as those at dead center. And, while the Berlins are still audible from under the press box, the Paris loudspeakers provide a more personal audio source for the alumni who pay for those seats.

This story initially appeared in the February 18 issue of Sound & Communications.

Technomad Loudspeakers Installed at Henderson State University

Henderson State University (Arkadelphia, AR) recently installed a total of eight Technomad loudspeakers for its football stadium, home of the Henderson State Reddies. The new loudspeakers, first used at the 2007 home opener, replace an antiquated horn system, bringing vastly improved voice and music intelligibility to the 10,000 seat stadium.

The university purchased six Technomad Berlin 15/H Install loudspeakers and two Technomad Paris 616 loudspeakers through Troxell Communications, along with two PA racks filled with new mixers, amplifiers and signal processors. Four of the Berlin 15/H Install loudspeakers were installed on the press box by the home bleachers, with the other two installed on poles next to the visitor bleachers. The Paris 616 loudspeakers were installed lengthwise on the ceiling of the press box overhang to provide a direct audio source to the alumni seats underneath.

The Berlin 15/H loudspeakers on the visitor side receive the signal from the main PA system via a wireless transmitter. A smaller PA rack in the visitor concession stand includes a wireless receiver, which feeds the signal to a delay processor before reaching the amplifier. The result is a perfectly blended live broadcast for everyone in the stadium.

Corporate Sound & Lighting Inc.

Article appearing in Pro Sound News Magazine, December 1995

“Corporate and Black-Tie functions are not like regular club gigs where if you have a bad night, the audience half expects it and they know they can always come again another night when you’re ‘on’.” states Joe Klein, president of Corporate Sound and Lighting of North Attleboro, Massachusetts. “As a sound professional specializing in corporate and industrial event sound, I need to be ‘on’ constantly. These events are extremely important regional fund-raisers, annual parties or very intense, morale building, national shareholders or sales meetings. A lot is riding on the audio presentation. If it’s ‘off’, the whole mood, flow and message is lost, attendees are discouraged, corporate executives are disappointed and I would never be called back to do the job again. There can never be any mistakes.”

To make all of his events perfect and continually generate repeat business for his company, Joe stays on the cutting edge of audio technology combined with proven, established technology, to meet the growing demands of his clients. Corporate Sound and Lighting stocks several of the better known loudspeaker lines, but it was the recent acquisition of Technomad loudspeakers that Joe attributes to his continuing success specializing in providing sound and lighting for many New England based corporate giants.

“Technomads are the ultimate in multi-purpose loudspeakers,” Joe states. “Since acquiring the Technomads at the end of 1994, I’ve been using them for all of my corporate events. Depending upon the speaker model, Technomads can function as monitors, floor or flying side-fills, drum monitors, you name it. When I use the Technomads, I find I need only about half the amount of loudspeakers than with other loudspeaker brands. The coherency and linearity is fantastic. Gain before feedback is incredible and the dispersion is mindboggling. There is no lost energy and even behind the FOH system, on stage, the coherency is fantastic. I can’t get over the efficiency of the Technomad loudspeakers. The Technomads sound so natural compared to anything I’ve ever heard.” Joe continues, “Since the Technomads are the only self-casing loudspeakers I know of, set-up and tear-down is fast and easy and truck packs are a safe, secure and solid dream-come-true. What other speaker systems are out there where you can just throw the lids on them, stack and latch and away- you-go?”

Events range in size from a small sales meeting of 300 for the computer peripheral manufacturer EMC2 to a Dorchester political rally of 3,000. One recent event was the Cardinal Cushing Charity fund-raiser held at the Sheraton in Boston. 1,500 people gathered in the 100 foot long and 80 foot wide main ballroom for this prestigious annual affair. “The event called for extreme high-fidelity for video audio playback and strong voice articulation for many speeches and announcements. For the FOH, I used a small Technomad system consisting of two Berlin 400-watt two-way full range cabinets, two Cairo 800-watt three-way bi-amped cabinets, two Chicago 1000-watt subwoofers and two Noho 300-watt full range cabinets were used as delay loudspeakers. I was concerned about providing clear, articulate sound under the two balconies that ran down the full length of each side of the room. The wide dispersion pattern from the FOH full-range Berlin and Cairo cabinets covered the under balcony area so completely and efficiently, additional under-balcony loudspeakers were not required.” Joe continues, “There were so many people at this event they were actually sitting on the loudspeakers. The Technomads have such a smooth, transparent and clean delivery, the sound level was as comfortable right in front of the loudspeakers, as it was in the back of the room.”

Another recent event involved a 15 piece big band lead by the great band leader, Illinois Jacquette. The Price Center charity fund-raiser, held in Mansfield, called for a flown FOH system consisting of only two Berlins and two Cairos. Two Nohos were flown and utilized as side fill cabinets. Joe states proudly, “Mr. Jacquette could not get over the amazing articulation coming out of, what he referred to as ‘those tiny little loudspeakers’. The Technomads were very responsive even through some of the most delicate dynamics. Mr. Jacquette stated, the music that evening gave him ‘that warm blanket feeling.'”

Amplification is exclusively Hafler model Pro 5000s. According to Joe, “The 5000s are one of the most pleasing sounding amps. They are very fast and have a great damping factor. I only use four Pro 5000 amps to power a Technomad FOH system consisting of two Berlins, two Cairos, two Chicago subwoofers and two Noho cabinets. Since the Technomads are so efficient, the Haflers are the perfect match for them.” For much larger events or should multiple events occur at the same time, Joe inventories fourteen of the Pro 5000 amps.

Mixing consoles are Soundcraft 200s. “I have three of the 200s as well as a Mackie 1604 with the expander unit and a 1202. The Mackies are usually reserved for the smaller gigs while the Soundcraft 200s go out on the live band situations and major corporate gigs. I also have an old Yamaha MC2408M that still works great.” Outboard gear is LA Audio 4C four channel compressors, Yamaha Q2031 Stereo EQs, Klark Teknik DN300 mono EQs. Effect units are from Lexicon and Yamaha. Wireless microphones are exclusively Shure LS Series Diversity wireless microphone systems with antenna distribution. “I’ve found the Shures to be very reliable in the many, many diverse situations I find myself in. I also use many other brands of mics including Beyers, Sennheisers, AKGs and EVs.”

One such diverse situation was a First Night Celebration on New Years Eve in Northampton. Several sound companies were contracted to supply over thirty Technomad loudspeakers for 12 different indoor event sights around town. Joe concludes, “The Technomads are just amazing. No matter where you were the sound was perfect. Whether it was in a very reverberant church or a small theater, the Technomads seemed to tame every acoustical environment. It was a real pleasure to work with the other sound companies in putting on such a flawless and joyous event on the first day of 1995. I stated then it was a good omen for the year and that turned out to be very true. Business has been and continues to be great.”