A major audio system upgrade at Lafayette Christian Academy (LCA) in the US has been completed through a joint effort by Paul Mancuso of Vital Integrators and the team at Highway Marketing.
The first aspect of upgrading the academy’s sports field was to the outdoor One Systems loudspeaker system installation from– six more were added to serve different home stadium zones, one for the Champions Square tailgating section and one for the concession area.
At the heart of the audio control centre is an Allen & Heath AHM-16 – the 16x16 Audio Matrix Processor handles all of the input from the PA announcer, national anthem, special announcements, bumper music and hype music. AHM processors use next-generation FPGA technology, 96kHz audio and sub-millisecond latency. The audio engines have the power to deliver more processing than the usual open architecture platforms, including 8-band PEQ, gating, compression and delay on all input channels, and an 8-band PEQ, 30-band GEQ, compressor, ANC, source selector, limiter and delay to all zone outputs.
A key in the integration is Allen & Heath’s Custom Control application – where Vital Integrators created a custom layout for PC and an iPhone, so that adjustments to the PA can be made anywhere in the stadium where a Wi-Fi signal can be delivered.
‘Dennie [Edwards of Highway Marketing] and the Highway team have been great proponents of AHM since its launch,’ says A&H USA Commercial Audio Manager, Samantha Potter. ‘Custom Control is one of Allen & Heath’s most valuable tools, and it being free only adds to that value. Installations such as this one at LCA are a blend of scale, performance and AV/IT – exactly where AHM excels.’
The power for the system is provided by four LEA Professional amplifiers. In addition to having presets for the One Systems speakers, these amplifiers also provide network remote control and monitoring anywhere in the stadium.
‘This project shows a perfect synergy of customer input design, expertise, and the cooperation of multiple manufacturers to achieve a desired goal,’ Edwards says.
More: www.allen-heath.com
