MEMPHIS, TN — Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium (LBMS), built in 1965 and renovated in 1987, was overdue for an upgrade for sound system components that had been exposed to the elements since 1981. The budget still hasn’t allowed for a comprehensive sound system upgrade, but contractors were able to add 12 weatherproof Danley TH-115 subwoofers. The stadium welcomes up to 60,000 fans for the AutoZone Liberty Bowl and for big regional draws like University of Memphis Tiger football games and the Southern Heritage Classic, which pits Jackson State against rival Tennessee State.
David Pierce is in charge of “everything audio” at LBMS. An employee of Running Pony Productions, the company that holds the contract for the stadium, Pierce deals with in-house sound and broadcast feeds to radio and TV. He noted that the new subs were long overdue.
“The high-end horns are fiberglass and are still working, but the woofers were literally in tatters,” said Pierce. “There were simply no more places to screw, glue, or duct tape the things back together. Only a third of the original cabinets were even functioning at all.”
As the sound at LBMS was becoming progressively more anemic with every season, the demands placed on it were growing. Ambient noise from fans at the big games, including the Liberty Bowl and the Southern Heritage Classic, seemed to be increasing with every passing year.
“It was a fine system when it was installed over a quarter of a century ago, but time and exposure was getting the better of it,” said Pierce. “Lately, we were pushing it to the limits and it was coming up short, especially in the low-end.” As Pierce tells it, the city was reluctant to pay for a new sound system, but agreed to “part with enough money to get some good subs in time for our two biggest early season games.”
The stadium hired Steven Durr Designs to come up with an effective, but low-cost, solution to its low-end woes. Durr included a request that the winning contractor actually build horn-loaded bass cabinets because their inherent efficiency would maximize “bang-for-buck” with limited city dollars. “But in a pre-bid meeting, none of the contractors wanted to build cabinets,” explained Pierce. “We searched around and found that Danley was making truly weatherproof, horn-loaded subwoofers and that people were saying a lot of nice things about them. We arranged a demo, and that sealed the deal.”
The 12 weatherproof Danley TH-115 subwoofers replaced the existing bass cabinets in the first week of September, just ahead of a big Labor Day weekend game between the University of Memphis and Ole Miss. Danley’s “tapped horn” subwoofer technology has the benefit of efficiency, as envisioned in Durr’s specification, but goes beyond that to deliver deeper lows and a more even frequency response. In addition, the “TH” technology generates directional low-end — which again improves efficiency — and surprisingly low distortion. The Danley TH-115 delivers up to 137 dB from 38 to 200 Hz in a compact 150 lb. package.
“The sound system is booming now,” said Pierce. “Danley owner, Mike Hedden suggested that we might have gotten away with half as many boxes, but I knew he had never heard the roar of impassioned Tigers fans. But after hearing the new system in action in their game against Ole Miss, he might have been right. The whole thing pumped and bumped! We went from way-less-than-adequate to more-than-adequate. It feels great!”
Now that the most critical shortcomings have been addressed, the stadium is keen to put some sheen on the top-end as well. If all goes according to plan, the high-end will catch up with the low-end before the Liberty Bowl in December.
For more information, please visit www.danleysoundlabs.com.
