Brian Baumann and Kent Laabs of Soundworks Systems Inc. handled the design and installation. They explain, "The audio system needed to be capable of high SPL's for UWSP Pointer basketball games and other athletic events. It needed to be capable of clear music reproduction whilst maintaining high speech intelligibility for both low and high SPL events. On top of all that, budget was a factor.
"The room itself presented acoustic challenges which included its mezzanine type area with tiered seating and a plexi-glass-faced guard rail system. We needed to mitigate unwanted reflections from the maple floor, painted block walls and especially the plexi-glass. We divided the room into 8 zones in order to accommodate the permanent seating, temporary bleachers and floor seating with delay and zone presets.
"We researched various loudspeakers from multiple manufacturers before deciding on the Arena 15. We had used other db Arena series products on previous installations and were familiar with their performance. We designed and bid the system utilizing the Arena 15 based on the available horn pattern, sensitivity, power handling and price point."
"Soundworks Systems Inc. provided us with an excellent solution for our space," said Mitch Capelle, assistant athletic director for media relations at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. "The space, with its wide variety of uses, needed a system that could provide us with this kind of versatility. Soundworks Systems Inc. perfectly tailored this system to the multiple uses of this showcase facility on our campus to improve the spectator experience, no matter the event in the space."
(Jim Evans)
