USA - Songwriter and publisher Chas Sandford is the recipient of 12 ASCAP Most Performed Song awards, including John Waite's Missing You, Chicago's What Kind of Man Would I Be and Stevie Nicks' Talk To Me. His songs have also been recorded by Tina Turner, Rod Stewart, Brooks & Dunn, Alison Krauss, Rick Springfield, Sammy Hagar, and many others. His base is the Secret Studio, located on 50 acres of farmland outside Nashville.
When Sandford wanted to expand his studio’s capabilities to include Dolby Atmos, he turned to amplifiers from LEA Professional.
“In reviewing the specific requirements for our installation, LEA Professional amps checked all of the boxes perfectly,” said Sandford. “It was a breeze setting them up, we basically set them up once and forgot it. Once the system was tuned, I was floored by how great it sounded. The system performs flawlessly and sounds fabulous.”
Sandford’s quest to enjoy music ‘at its highest level’ brought him to NAMM, where he served on a panel for Creating Your Own Atmos Studio. The panel was facilitated by Dave Malekpour, president of The PAD Group (Professional Audio Design), who used Secret Sound to explain why Dolby Atmos could benefit Sandford and how to implement it effectively. Sandford was hooked and worked with Malekpour to make it a reality using the studio’s pre-existing gear, including Augspurger monitors.
“Sandford wanted to use his existing isolation rack, which had limited space available,” said Malekpour. “We chose LEA amps primarily because of the Dante connectivity and the ability to fit into one rack space with four channels of great specifications and super low noise. An added benefit was that the amplifiers themselves don't make a lot of noise or generate a lot of heat – they were just really efficient and effective in this installation.”
Malekpour installed a combination of multiple Connect Series 702D and 704Ds in the studio to power the PMC speakers. Both 1U amplifiers are well-suited for installations requiring high flexibility, making them the right choice for Secret Sound. With 96kHz-capable Dante and AES67 connectivity options, the IoT-enabled two-channel 702D and the four-channel 704D provide 700W per channel, support Hi-Z (70V or 100V) and Lo-Z selectable by channel and feature Smart Power Bridge technology. With three ways to connect, the studio can engage the built-in WiFi access point, connect to the building’s WiFi, or connect to the local area network via Cat 5 or Cat 6 cable.
“Amplifiers have a big impact on how the speakers perform, how the low end is delivered, and the naturalness of it,” said Malekpour. “And the LEA amps are a great product, literally Dante-enabled little powerhouses. I highly recommend them, and I think I'll use them again probably every chance I get.”
