LEVELLAND, TX — Since graduation ceremonies earlier this year, visitors to the Texan Dome at South Plains College (SPC) have noticed an upgrade in intelligibility. The new sound system, which includes Meyer Sound UPQ-1P loudspeakers, finally replaced the used gear SPC acquired from the University of Texas in 1971. The Texan Dome, together with new facilities and a fitness complex built in 2002, “is our biggest recruiting tool,” said Joe Tubb, athletic director. “Once we get them here, it’s the people that they like. But, you have to get them here first.”
Along with graduations and sporting events, the venue hosts livestock judging contests and other award ceremonies. “This facility is the showplace for our community and it was due an upgrade like this,” said Dr. Kelvin Sharp, president of the college. “The quality delivered through this sound system is so much better than the one we used previously. It has made the audio at our public events a lot clearer for the audiences.”
A distributed system, highlighting 26 UPQ-1P loudspeakers and four UPJ-1P VariO loudspeakers, is permanently flown from the catwalk. A Galileo loudspeaker management system with two Galileo 616 processors is used for signal drive and control. Addison, Texas-based consultant Acoustic Dimensions, coordinated the system design.
“Once you hear the UPQ, you can immediately tell it’s a Meyer product,” said Matt Quick, assistant professor in sound technology at South Plains College. “The horn is very smooth, and definitely performs the way you would expect. It’s the difference between understanding what somebody said and not.”
Additional Meyer Sound equipment, including the UPJ-1P, UPA-1P, UPA-2P, UPM-1P loudspeakers, and USW-1P subwoofers, comprise a portable setup that complements the permanent arena system when a larger system is needed.
The additional equipment is also used in other campus areas for events that require sound reinforcement, and is set up and operated by students of South Plains’s Live Sound Certificate program, the first of its kind in Texas.
“As part of the Live Sound program’s curriculum, our students help handle the school’s AV requirements in exchange for hands-on experience in the design, installation, operation, and maintenance of audio systems,” said Quick. “Now as they handle the sound reinforcement needs for a performing ensemble or an employee breakfast, they get to practice with the industry-standard equipment from Meyer Sound.”
Tubb is pleased with the result of the upgrade, and looks forward to hosting South Plains’s sports fans and candidates in the renovated Texan Dome. “The new sound is great—whether you listening to a speaker or live music or play-by-play, it’s a great system,” he says. “It’s state-of-the-art and simple to use. We’re truly satisfied.”
For more information, please visit www.meyersound.com.
