MORRISTOWN, TN – All Pro Sound updated the classroom-style paging system at the recreation facility at Manley Baptist Church, which was not up to the needs for the facility, now used for everything from basketball games and indoor soccer to dinner theater and shows.
Chad Edwardson, design and sales specialist at All Pro Sound, used Ashly Audio's pêma integrated DSP and amplifier technology for the retrofit, which also included audio support for the facility's surrounding running track, classrooms and lounge room.
The old system consisted of a single loudspeaker – "a single cone in the corner of the room," as Edwardson described it. "Apart from dodgy control and unreliable performance, it just sounded bad. There was no low-end or high-end response and plenty of subtle distortion. If all that weren't enough, there wasn't enough power to deliver the kind of SPLs they were hoping for."
Edwardson originally considered the usual solution for the new system – a separate DSP to provide input conditioning, control logic, and speaker conditioning that would send its outputs to a separate amplifier. Then he learned about Ashly Audio's pêma system, which effectively integrates Ashly's renowned amplifier technology into its DSP infrastructure.
In only two rack spaces, Edwardson found everything he needed. "There is a refreshing simplicity in the pêma," he said. "The small footprint, together with Ashly's easy programming and seamless integration of its WR Series of wall panel user controls, made the choice very easy."
For dinner theater and shows, Edwardson provided Manley with a portable rack equipped with an Alesis eight-channel mixer, a CD player, and a modest collection of Audio-Technica wireless microphones. The rack's output feeds a wall plate that connects to the pêma, and an Ashly WR-2 four-position remote switch provides intuitive control of the active inputs. Other inputs include one for an iPod, radio and paging.
To address the previously underpowered gymnasium, Edwardson installed a four-unit, 360-degree cluster of EAW VR Series loudspeakers. Three of the speakers reside on one zone and the fourth, which faces stage-side, resides on a separate zone, allowing the church to accommodate theatrical productions or concerts. A simple preset selection switches between modes. Because it was less critical, the church opted to retain the ceiling speakers in the classrooms and lounge areas. Edwardson repurposed a QSC PLX Series amplifier to power them, tapping one of the pêma's line outputs to do so.
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