MANILA — 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. Crystal Audio installed Adamson’s SpekTrix line arrays — the gear’s debut in the island nation. After testing, installers found that the compact units were powerful enough to change the speaker-to-subwoofer element count in the six main hangs from 6:1 to 4:1. Four supplementary trapezoidal fill boxes were used for the center of the court.
More details from Adamson Systems (www.adamsonsystems.com):
The University of Santo Tomas in Manila celebrates its 400th year, and in honor of their anniversary they’ve constructed a multipurpose gymnasium aptly named the Quadricentennial Pavilion. Replacing the University’s aging sports complex, the new pavilion is not only home to the university’s sports teams, but it also accommodates a dance troupe, fencing-, badminton-, judo-, and taekwondo clubs. The ground level is home to retail space for businesses such as banks and restaurants, the first floor houses a 2-level fitness center adjacent to a gymnastics room, while the third level features a two-lane oval track around the inside perimeter of the building.
The crowning feature of the Pavilion is a 5014sq.m (54,000sq.ft) gymnasium with gallery seating large enough to hold 5,792 people. The retractable bleachers at courtside make room on the floor for staging and a podium, turning the court into a perfect venue for musical performances and graduation ceremonies.
Due to the seating capacity of the main pavilion, Adamson’s SpekTrix line-array was the perfect fit for the installation. Its high SPL makes it loud enough for rock concerts, yet its compact footprint allows smooth sound distribution without obstructing the view of the gallery audience.
The original sound design called for a single SpekTrix sub flown with six 5-degree SpekTrix enclosures below, but after some acoustical testing, the SpekTrix proved sufficient with an array ratio of 1 SpekTrix Sub to 4 SpekTrix enclosures, cutting costs on the overall budget. 6 sets of said arrays were flown; two arrays at the 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 is located above one of the entrances to the upper level of seating. 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 in case of any repair or future upgrades.
The design and installation was executed by Makati City based Crystal Audio headed by Operations Manager Kevin C. Malupa. Crystal Audio employs 8 full time office staff and part time sales agents, who operate from 2 offices and use a network of 11 dealers nationwide. When an installation calls for special expertise, project based contractors are brought in.
For more info: www.crystalaudio.ph.
