When California Speedway became Auto Club Speedway in 2008, the new owners began a long-term project of making improvements to the venue's infrastructure. This year, Bay Area-based Pacific Satellite upgraded the Speedway's sound system, bringing in 104 of Community's powerful R.5HPT three-way loudspeaker systems.
"Previously, the stands were covered by Community M4 loudspeakers mounted on the wheel fence," explains Pacific Satellite's Jerry Coté. "The M4 is still a good speaker, but one of the reasons we chose the R-Series is that it delivers exceptional intelligibility, along with great coverage."
Coté cites a request from the track's directors to move the speakers from the wheel fence as a great opportunity to redesign the system. "We immediately contacted the folks at Community, since they were already familiar with the Speedway," he says. "We worked to come up with a real-time projection of what we could accomplish."
The new system places 104 R.5HPT boxes on posts at the foot of the stands, providing coverage to the main seating area. Several of the M4 units have been repurposed to reinforce coverage at the outer seating zones.
"By using the R.5s and focusing them closer to the stands, we're able to achieve a much more uniform coverage and greater intelligibility," Coté concludes. "People are hearing the announcements and getting information on what's going on. We set out to create a better system here, and I think we've succeeded."
(Jim Evans)
