The auditorium - seating 1,202 with a ceiling height of 50ft - was opened in 1970 and has been in constant use ever since. Matt Horwood of Reflex Limited was approached by Margaret Young, head of media support at RMA Sandhurst to improve the ageing facilities in the auditorium. With the help of specialist audio distributor Leisuretec, Horwood came up with the specifications for the project. In turn, he approached Arbiter to supply JBL speakers.
The question of clarity was absolutely crucial, so Horwood and Arbiter decided that four of the potent JBL EVOi.324 powered speakers were the ideal solution. The speakers are flown from the ceiling above the stage, and to each side of the theatre, supported by an EVOi.net audio control system enabling the audience to clearly hear vocals from every part of the auditorium. The EVOi.net system provides highly intelligent speaker control and is fully capable of adjusting to its environment. The frequency will self-adjust to compensate for the effects of the surroundings, and the system will also set its own delays knowing where the speakers are situated.
The EVOi.net system can also recognize how hard it is being driven, and can adjust discreet transducer levels accordingly to maintain a consistent sound. Feedback can be isolated from the programme signal and eliminated. EVOi.net will also optimize its performance between different applications such as speech or music.
The main installation challenge was having just eight days in which to complete the work, due to the Hall’s confirmed bookings. The equipment rack took two full days to construct and wire up, with many pieces of AV equipment having to be internally linked. So that primarily non-technical presenters can give their lectures with ease and user-friendly facilities, two specially manufactured double-width conference lecterns were installed, complete with laptop shelves and radio frequency touch panels. Arbiter supplied a range of AKG lectern, desktop and wireless-lapel microphones for this section of the installation.
To ensure that the audience can also participate, a further combination of handheld microphones and two AKG C568 ‘shotgun’ microphones were provided. These mics have stands and an extremely narrow pick-up field with the ability to pinpoint an audience member at a distance of up to 50m. The whole installation was completed in just over a week and has recently won an AV award for Audio Project of the Year 2002.
(Lee Baldock)
