Linked into the cathedral's 100v line audio system, the Ampetronic induction loop system was installed in the cathedral's main worship areas, comprising five ILD9 loop amplifiers and an ILC5 combining unit.
Despite having provided 17 years faultless service, it would be reasonable to assume that after such a time, the system may well be in need of refurbishment. This was the case with the entire audio system, when contractor RG Jones undertook a major upgrade of the cathedral's entire audio system, which was intended to include replacement of all components.
However, Jon Berry of RG Jones found the quality and reliability of the Ampetronic equipment to be such that no replacement was required and has predicted that the units will work reliably for at least another decade.
"Having removed all of the original 100 volt line loudspeakers and analogue front end, we installed a new Intellivox-based system, controlled by a customised Peavey Nion system," says Berry."A key part of the job was then integrating the induction loop with the new system. The cathedral's audio consultants had requested that all of the original equipment be replaced, but we felt that as the ILD9 and ILC5 are well-manufactured, current products they should be inspected and tested, but only replaced if required."
He continues, "We inspected the equipment, tested it to check functionality and found it to be working well. Having also investigated with Ampetronic the likely areas that may cause problems, all were agreed that there was absolutely no basis for replacing the ILD9s or ILC5."
Now moved to equipment racks in the cathedral's triforium, the Ampetronic equipment has been fully integrated into the new audio system. "The congregation at the cathedral has a high proportion of induction loop users and so it is extremely important that they get the full benefit of the system," says Berry. "The Ampetronic equipment has proved itself extremely reliable, but also of very high quality from the user perspective."
(Jim Evans)
