WHITINSVILLE, MA — When Coffeen Fricke and Associates, Inc. faced a challenge for the audio system for Lincoln Financial Field, home of the Philadelphia Eagles, they went to several manufacturers of sound technology seeking a solution. EAW was chosen in part for their ability to come up with a customized solution.
The EAW Strategic Engineering Group, led by Kenton Forsythe, EAW’s co-founder/vice president, strategic engineering; Jeff Rocha, senior director of engineering; Joe Fustolo, director of EAW’s applications support group; and Janet Yacino, who supervises Build-To-Order (BTO) projects, constitute a “brain trust” that tackles problems and, in the process, create novel products and solutions.
The work EAW’s Strategic Engineering Group did for the Eagles stadium sound system is a case in point. The stadium needed sound coverage for very specific sections of the venue with enclosures that would also deflect weather in a particular way, so that fans would get great sound without getting wet.
The Group took the concept from an existing EAW line-source speaker array, of the type used commonly in houses of worship on columns to project sound without interfering with sight lines, and adapted it for horizontal mounting.
That custom solution worked, and some of the new ideas used to solve that problem were incorporated into EAW’s speaker systems line.
Another ongoing custom engineering project involves developing a compact, high output design with pattern control, which, when completed, will allow more targeted placement of better-sounding boxes for venues such as theme parks.
In a third example, a customized version of EAW’s full-range AX 364 Arrayable Install Loudspeaker, modified to fire simultaneously forward and down, was developed for the New York Mets’ new ballpark, Citi Field.
Working with systems consultants WJHW of Dallas, Texas, and integrator TSI Global Companies, LLC, several of these modified enclosures were installed at the clubhouse level, one of the most challenging spaces in that kind of stadium. There, a pair of 10-inch subwoofers was aimed downward to cancel out low-frequency buildup in an architectural bass trap. Other solutions have been developed for venues ranging from the Red Sox’s Fenway Park in Boston to the Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.
EAW’s customized-solution approach to engineering is “a key aspect of our product development,” according to Forsythe. “A significant portion of EAW’s product ranges come from specialized work our engineering and manufacturing divisions have developed to provide specific solutions to our customers.”
As venues become more competitive and technology advances, audio systems are becoming more complex. But if the challenges are on the rise, so are the solutions. “We have a pretty broad scope of product, so we have a lot of things that would address a wide range of challenges,” Forsythe noted.
Engineering, however, is just one piece of the customization process. Manufacturing resources also need to be in place to execute the design. The Baltimore Orioles’ Oriole Park at Camden Yards, for example, recently benefited from the installation of a new distributed sound reinforcement system featuring nearly 300 loudspeakers from EAW.
That installation, completed in time for the Orioles’ April 6th season opener against the New York Yankees, was finished in a highly accelerated time period of three months, which is approximately half the amount of time a system of this magnitude would take to install under normal conditions.
To meet that deadline, EAW drew on the resources at its R&D/manufacturing facility in Massachusetts to supply the loudspeaker inventory requested for the installation. In addition to accelerating the manufacturing process to meet the deadline, a customized weatherproof system was developed for the specific requirements of that job.
Another key facet of the customized approach is the ability to respond to customer input. EAW’s Applications Support Group evaluates new requests as they come in, reviewing which existing EAW products might form the basis of a solution.
If none of the existing solutions address the challenge at hand, engineering will develop the concept further and create prototypes. The BTO group will then oversee completion of the custom solution.
EAW customers in these situations “love it because they’ve got an ownership interest in the idea,” said Forsythe. “We all work together to help that customer solve their problem, and when we turn the system on and they finally hear the results of everyone’s efforts, it’s a very rewarding experience.”
For more information, please visit www.eaw.com.
