As with most ice arenas, acoustics are not among the venue's strongerfeatures, and with the 28-foot ceiling exacerbating reflectivity issues, intelligibility for the announcements was a significant challenge at the outset. "Particularly for synchronized skating events, the sound needed to be distributed evenly and without a delay pattern," observes Joe Jenkins of Adrian-based Vision Performance Group. The company designed a sound system utilizing 14 Community iBOX IHP 1264 two-way loudspeakers.
"The system is set up into two zones," Jenkins explains. "The first zone is for audience information: announcements and music playback. The second zone covers the ice surface, with music playback for synchronized skating as well as announcements." Seven loudspeaker enclosures cover each of the two zones, with each enclosure powered by 600 Watts of Crown amplification. system processing is courtesy of dbx.
"Community has a long-standing reputation for reliability and performance and we were confident that the iBOX would be up to the task," says Jenkins. "In fact, the system has delivered beyond anyone's expectations. It provides this arena with the clarity, integrity and volume it demands. Loud and Clear."
(Jim Evans)
