Basecamp Fitness operates three locations in Southern California and two in Northern California. While high-energy music helps fuel workouts at the centres, patrons also need to hear their instructors clearly. Replacing old sound systems, Tekworks recently installed new systems based on Renkus-Heinz IC Live Gen5 arrays.
‘We have been working with Basecamp Fitness over the past couple of years, perfecting the audio-video experience for their clients,’ says Tekworks Director of A/V, Dave Novak. ‘Intelligibility is the number one priority in these facilities. We need loud music so people can get into their workouts, and we need lots of low frequencies-that pumping bass. But above everything, people have to understand what the instructor is telling them. So intelligibility is key.
‘Acoustically, these are terrible environments,’ he continues. ‘It’s like a big metal box, with reverberant sound. The rooms have lots of mirrors, glass, and concrete and lots of metal on the ceiling. We try to control the space but when we can’t, we have to control the sound. At the first facility we did for Basecamp Fitness, for example, sound treatment was not an option. We knew from previous installations that Renkus-Heinz beam steering was what these spaces needed.’
Accompanied by Jeff Miranda, VP of equipment supplier Pacific AV, Novak demoed a Renkus-Heinz IC Live Gen5-series loudspeaker at Basecamp Fitness’ Santa Monica facility. ‘We brought it in, set it up, and 80 per cent of our problems went away with just a single speaker change because of IC Live’s ability to focus a vertical beam,’ Novak recalls. ‘With IC Live Gen5, we’ve got nice, wide horizontal dispersion and the ability to focus vertical beams to keep sound off the ceilings. Some will come off the walls, and there’s not much we can do about that, but once we cut the ceiling out of the equation and steer the sound toward the floor, everything works Great.’
Although Novak considered the Renkus-Heinz Iconyx series, he decided on the Renkus-Heinz IC-F-Dual-RN, part of the IC Live Gen5 series. ‘Iconyx is a great speaker when the sound pressure level doesn’t need to be that high,’ Novak avers, ‘but this is essentially pretty close to a rock and roll venue. We chose IC Live Gen5 because it delivers the high SPL required. One IC-F-Dual-RN in the back of the space covers the entire space. We’re steering four beams, and we get even coverage, with the same SPL front to back. Everything is intelligible, it’s nice and loud, and the system looks great.’
IC Live Gen5 arrays use a low-profile cabinet designed to blend into surrounding décor, and deliverer up to 108dB SPL from 80Hz-20kHz. Horizontal dispersion is 150° up to 3kHz and 120° above 3kHz, providing the broad, even coverage Novak sought. The aiming angle can be precisely adjusted from -30° to +30°, enabling Novak to focus the beams exactly where needed in a challenging acoustical environment.
To deliver the powerful low end required, Novak chose a Renkus-Heinz PNX212-Sub subwoofer, which features dual ultra-heavy-duty 12-inch woofers, a 40-120Hz frequency range and up to 134dB SPL. ‘We didn’t go for overkill in the space,’ Novak insists. ‘We just wanted some nice, tight low end, and the PNX212-Sub fills that in nicely.’
Novak installed IC-F-Dual-RN/PNX212-Sub systems in all three of Basecamp Fitness’ Southern California facilities. ‘They’re all difficult acoustic environments, and the IC Live Gen5 system always takes care of it,’ he reports. ‘We got the intelligibility and SPL that we needed for every venue. The Renkus-Heinz system gives us a rock concert environment that really motivates the people working out. IC Live Gen5 was the right choice for Basecamp Fitness. I’ve proven it three times in these venues.’
More: www.renkus-heinz.com
