The University of Wisconsin has equipped its new basketball arena with 20 dBTechnologies Arena 15 loudspeakers to overcome the acustic challenges of a large room with a broad range of applications.

Beside sporting events, Quandt Fieldhouse in Stevens Point is also the venue for ‘commencement’ ceremonies and hosts a multitude of concerts and assemblies, asking a lot of the sound system – and the design/build team.

Brian Baumann and Kent Laabs of Soundworks Systems handled the design and installation: ‘The audio system needed to be capable of high SPLs for UWSP Pointer basketball games and other athletic events,’ he explains. ‘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 plexiglass-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 eight 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,’ he continues. ‘We had used other db Arena series products on previous installations and were familiar with their performance. We designed and bid the system using the Arena 15 based on the available horn pattern, sensitivity, power handling and price point.’

The two way passive Arena 15 offers powerful low-frequency reproduction and a compression driver with a 1.4-inch voice coil, giving it the flexibility to handle a full range of applications. With a high SPL of 129dB and weighing in at 23.7kg, it also promises easy installation.

‘Rotatable horns, M10 rigging points and their lightweight design made them very easy to install from the structure steel,’ Baumann says. ‘When it came time to tune the system, we were again amazed at their smooth and articulate response without processing. Final tuning of the system was a breeze. Now that the system is in and has been used for many athletic events and winter commencement ceremonies, it only confirms that our choice in loudspeakers was spot on and consistent with the high level of quality that our reputation is built upon.’

‘Soundworks Systems provided us with an excellent solution for our space,’ says 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.’

Based in Wisconsin, Soundworks Systems designs and installs audio, video and lighting in a variety of venues including, but not limited to, theatres, houses of worship, indoor and outdoor athletic stadia, schools, boardrooms and local government facilities. In addition, the company provides live production for touring acts and corporate events.

‘We have years of experience in the pro audio field, and the dBTechnologies loudspeakers are impressive,’ says Baumann, who has since used Arena 8s in a multi-media room at the Amherst High School (Amherst, Winsconsin), and specified more Arena 15s in a local elementary school gymnasium. ‘I don’t think the performance of these boxes can be beat at their price point.’

More: www.dbtechnologies.com