Clear Sound recently completed the design and installation of a sound system for the Hatboro-Horsham High School auditorium, using a Community Pro loudspeaker system.
Located northwest of Philadelphia, Hatboro-Horsham High School is a comprehensive public high school with an enrolment of around 1,650 students. Milt Kunz teaches Social Studies and is also Stage Manager for the school’s 1,600-seat auditorium – which is used for events including assemblies, band concerts, and theatrical presentations. For the new sound system, he relied to Clear Sound’s 40-plus years’ expertise in all applications of professional A/V.
Chris Dietze from Clear Sound worked with Kunz to understand the multi-purpose requirements for the auditorium, enabling him to design a system that would meet and exceed the requirements for each application. Dietze had a long-time relationship with Community and, having heard the company’s new IV6 Modular Vertical Array at InfoComm, decided this was the best option for the sound quality, coverage and performance needed. Dietze designed the system with assistance from Community’s Technical Applications Group.
The system comprises two six-cabinet arrays of IV6-1122 wide-dispersion 12-inch two-way array elements, flown on either side of the stage. Each array comprises five IV6-1122/05 elements with a 5° vertical coverage and one IV6-1122/15 element with a 15° vertical coverage. IV6 incorporates physical- and acoustic-shaping tools that allowed Dietze to tailor the arrays to the venue. This included use of each cabinet’s Passive Acoustic Optimization module and Ease Focus 3 to calculate the passive array parameters for each loudspeaker. This gave an unmatched SPL and frequency response consistency throughout a listening area without requiring additional amplifiers or DSP channels, an important consideration as he wanted to supply a system that was fully tailored but cost-effective. Clear Sound’s Chris Hughes was the installation manager for the project.
To deliver the audio quality and flexibility needed for live bands, theatre and public address, Dietze designed the system around a DiGiCo S31 mixing desk with Dante, and Cisco switching. Digital signal processing and control is by QSC, with Yamaha amplifiers powering the Community arrays. Stage monitoring is provided by four Community MX10 compact coaxial two-way monitors driven by QSC amplifiers and a Shure wireless mic package complete the system.
‘Chris Dietze and Clear Sound had a real skill in their ability to listen in our conversations and pick out the priorities and needs of our house,’ says Kunz. ‘They applied common sense problem solving and sophisticated technical solutions that I know will serve our school and community best.
‘The room sounds amazing,’ he continues. ‘Those who knew the old house are fascinated by the improvement. It’s seamless with clear and crisp sound that delineates every performer’s voice. Music sounds full and rich with real presence and projection. The speaker arrays look attractive and dramatic and their sound matches their sleek and powerful appearance. Hatboro-Horsham School District is proud to work with Pennsylvania companies like Clear Sound and Community and we look forward to many years of great sound from this significant improvement to our theatre.’
