Pro Acoustics Provides A Public School in Nebraska With A New Gymnasium Sound System
When Jerod Spahr, the Technology Coordinator at a K-12 public school in Nebraska, started looking for a new sound system for his school’s gymnasium, he reached out to several different companies for bids. He was searching for a sound system that would provide more clarity and better sound control than the current audio system. Jerod ultimately chose to accept the bid that Nathan, a sales engineer at Pro Acoustics, gave him because it “was the most detailed and [Nathan] listened to what we needed instead of just selling what he had.
Nathan designed a gymnasium sound system for the school anchored with the high efficiency Octasound SP820A 12" central speaker while staying within the school’s budget. The complete audio system combines a digital mixer, power amplifier, wireless microphone system, power conditioner and distribution unit, wall cabinet, rack drawer, and all the needed cables and wire for setup. This system is perfect for a school gymnasium, because it is durable, versatile, and provides clear, intelligible, hi-fi sound for play-by-play announcements and music.
Jerod had seen the Octasound SP820A speaker in a couple of other local gyms, and knew that he would be pleased with the quality of the sound. He was happy to replace their older 7 speakers with just one Octasound speaker that provides up to 20,000 square feet of sound coverage. Jerod said “It's a lot easier to control and while sitting in the bleachers, you don’t get blasted out.”
About the Equipment
The Octasound SP820A 12" central speaker system has an impact resistant rugged polyurethane elastomer finish. It can handle impact from basketballs, pucks, lacrosse balls, projectiles and more - which is good news in a school gymnasium. It also has a tuned port enclosure that contains a highly efficient 12" woofer matched to four compression horns and drivers. The frequency spectrum of the woofer and horns is determined by an internal crossover network that is optimized to maximize performance. This combination ensures full fidelity reproduction from an extremely compact central speaker system.
The Octasound speaker is controlled by the Soundcraft Ui12 remote controlled digital mixer, which is ablet/PC/Smartphone controlled. The Soundcraft mixer packs a complete digital mixing system into a compact, road-rugged stagebox format, with built-in Wi-fi and the ability to be controlled by any connected device via a standard web browser - no Apps, no OS limitations, no constraints on how you mix.
The versatile Yamaha PX Series amplifier brings the power to this gym sound system. The output power for the PX3 amplifier is 300W x 2 at 8Ω / 500W x 2 at 4Ω. It combines intelligent processing with high output power to meet the specific requirements of a school gym. It also features an LCD display for quick and easy system setup, with eight programmable presets for instant recall and reduced setup time that can be saved to a USB thumb drive and shared with other PX amplifiers.
This gymnasium sound system also features the Samson Concert 288 handheld dual-channel wireless system that offers easy setup, flawless operation and premium sound. This wireless microphone system provides a best-in-class 300’ wireless range and is ideal for announcements, play-by play, vocal performances, presentations, and more.
The included Atlas Sound AP-S15A 15A power conditioner and distribution unit features noise filtering for unwanted Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) that is commonly introduced into AC lines by nearby radio transmitters or wireless products. EMI filters are also incorporated to reduce noise from Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) generated by items such as electric motors and switching power supplies.
Nathan wanted to make sure that he built a complete solution for the gymnasium, so he made sure to also include the necessary cabinets, racks, panels, cables and wires that would be needed to hookup and install the system.
Jerod said that working with Nathan was a great experience. He helped design just what they needed and stayed within their budget. Jerod said that he “thought it might be a sell and forget me, but it was just the opposite.” Everything shipped fast and according to Jerod, “It has been a great experience working with your company [Pro Acoustics] and would recommend it to anyone.”
We were glad to be able to provide Jerod’s school with a sound system that will improve the audio in their gymnasium. We wish them the best of luck this school year!