Asbury University's Hughes Auditorium Upgrades Sound with WorxAudio Line Array TechnologyAs one of the cultural centerpieces on the campus of Asbury University (http://www.asbury.edu), Hughes Auditorium has a rich history. The facility was dedicated during commencement exercises in June 1929 and to this day is the site of three chapel services each week. The ornate facility has beautiful stained glass windows, an Austin pipe organ, and theater-style seating for approximately 1,500 people. In addition to worship services, the venue is home to a wide range of musical activities, including choral and orchestral performances, as well as rock concerts. To ensure the best possible sound reinforcement, the university recently upgraded its sound system -- drawing from the catalog of WorxAudio Technologies, a division of PreSonus Electronics, Inc. Pro Sound and Lights, a Nicholasville, Kentucky, design/build firm that specializes in high quality sound, lighting, and video projection systems for the commercial and house-of-worship markets throughout central Kentucky, was contracted to design and deploy the new sound system at Hughes Auditorium. After consulting with university officials, the company installed eight WorxAudio TrueLine V8i-P two-way, high efficiency, powered line array elements and two TrueLine TL218SSi-P powered sub-bass enclosures. "Hughes Auditorium is one of the key venues on campus," explains Pro Sound and Lights' technician and project leader Christopher G. Naughton. "The stately facility is approximately 130' long, 88' wide, and has a ceiling height of 35'. The ceiling is arched, and the stage, which faces into the length of the room, overlooks the seating area for 1,500 people. The aisles and stage area are carpeted. Being both a worship and a musical performance space, it was critically important that the new sound system provide a high level of speech intelligibility while also being able to reproduce music in a very natural sounding manner. Further, there were line-of-sight considerations that had to be observed." "After reviewing our options, we decided to deploy a centrally positioned cluster of eight WorxAudio TrueLine V8i-P line array elements. These loudspeakers -- painted white to blend aesthetically with the character of the room -- were flown using WorxAudio's TrueAim adjustable grid. The loudspeaker cluster is positioned over the front lip of the stage and hung at 34'. Eight feet below that point, there is a sign on the back wall that says 'Holiness Unto the Lord' in large print. It was critically important that the sign not be visually obscured from any of the seats in the house." Low-frequency support is provided by a pair of WorxAudio TL218SSi-P powered subwoofers. The flagship of the WorxAudio subwoofer product line, the TL218SSi-P features two direct radiating, 18", 2,000W cone drivers in a tuned enclosure made from 24mm, 21-ply Baltic birch that is highly braced with a dual, 24mm-thick, baffle board construction. These two sub-bass enclosures reside in the far corners, on platforms that are the same height as the stage. AFMG's FIRmaker technology was employed in the installation and steering of the WorxAudio loudspeaker system, which Naughton reports was a huge success. "The FIR filtering was a huge boon to the system," he said. "It helped reduce much of the early reflections we initially observed. The FIR steering provided a lot of control and smoothness to the overall quality of the sound and greatly increased speech intelligibility. Hugh Sarvis, managing director of the loudspeaker division for PreSonus, implemented the FIRmaker filters and worked closely with us to provide final tuning of the system." With the new WorxAudio sound system fully operational since early January, Naughton reports all is going extremely well. "The V8s enabled us to achieve the aggressive, powerful sound we needed in a very small package that more then met the client's needs. I was also very impressed with WorxAudio's support services. They were great to work with and very helpful. I can't wait to do my next project with them. And most importantly, the University is absolutely thrilled with the system. Both the client and I feel the WorxAudio system fit the bill perfectly, giving them everything they needed and more for a great price and a great look in the room." For information about Pro Sound and Lights, visit the company website at www.rjps.com. ![](/std_images/blank.gif)
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