LEA Professional Amplifiers Elevate the Environment at Multiple Venues in Niagara Falls

	As part of a new audio system, amplifiers from LEA Professional were installed in the church to improve intelligibility and enhance worship experiences for the congregation.

The aptly-named city of Niagara Falls stands adjacent to its famous namesake and is home to 50,000 residents. The city is rich in history, culture, outdoor life, shopping, and adrenaline-pumping adventure, featuring hundreds of attractions and things to do year-round. It's also home to 5 Day Productions, an AV integrator in western New York.

Led by CEO M, 5 Day Productions has been involved in several installations in and around Niagara Falls, including Niagara Community Church, Seva Kitchen and Bar, and Niagara Falls High School. Gambino regularly recommends LEA Professional's Connect Series amplifiers to meet various AV requirements, from high intelligibility to ease of use to built-in DSP.

"Most amplifiers nowadays, you're looking at almost the same exact price," says Gambino. "But then LEA adds in DSP capabilities, a control system [WebUI], and remote connectivity [LEA Cloud], essentially all for free. Those are a huge benefit and a lot of the reason LEA is pretty much the only amplifier I'm installing these days."

The Niagara Falls lies Niagara Community Church was established in 1981 and is home to a small but thriving congregation of approximately 100 members. The high-peaked sanctuary ceiling and other hard surfaces resulted in low speech intelligibility, making it difficult for churchgoers to understand the worship service as the congregation grew. As part of a new audio system, amplifiers from LEA Professional were installed in the church to improve intelligibility and enhance worship experiences for the congregation.

The audio system comprised two DAS Audio Quantum Series Q-43-T mains with two accompanying delay speakers. A compact Q-8 subwoofer rounded out the sanctuary system, while a series of 70V ceiling speakers were installed in the lobby and other rooms.

Gambino installed Connect Series 354 amplifiers to power the system. The IoT-enabled four-channel 354 provides 350W per channel into 2, 4, and 8 ohms, and 70Vrms and 100Vrms. It also supports Hi-Z (70V or 100V) and Lo-Z selectable by channel and features Smart Power Bridge technology. One amplifier powered the mains and delay speakers, while Gambino doubled the output on one channel on a second amplifier to power the subwoofer. He used the remaining channels to power the 70V ceiling speakers.

voco The Cadence is a stylish and modern hotel in Niagara Falls, New York. Situated close to Niagara Falls, it provides easy access to the natural wonder and various attractions in the area, making it a convenient base for tourists.

"Seva Kitchen and Bar is the culinary heart of the hotel. The name "Seva" is derived from a Sanskrit word meaning "selfless service." The previously installed amplifier wasn't meeting the restaurant's needs, so they turned to amplifiers from LEA Professional to fulfill the performance requirements for the upscale dining experience.

Gambino installed the Connect Series 354 to power the system. Two channels drive the low-impedance main speakers, while a third channel powers a subwoofer. The fourth channel powers 70V outdoor speakers covering the patio dining area. A Connect Series Touch handles the source selection, volume adjustments, and mute status for the indoor and outdoor areas. The controller is PoE-powered for easy installation and allows for group control of source, volume, and mute.

Niagara Falls High School is the sole high school within city limits. It has over 2,000 students in grades 9-12 and a student-teacher ratio of 16 to 1. The school's main gym, affectionately nicknamed the Wolvarena after the school's wolverine mascot, was still using the AV system that was initially installed when the school first opened in 2000. The high school was looking to replace the system due to degrading performance and wanted to improve ease of use, so it turned to the award-winning amplifiers from LEA Professional.

The challenge of the project was meeting the expectations of a simple-to-use, intuitive system that would integrate with the existing speakers. The amplifier needed a powerful DSP to ensure the speakers wouldn't be overdriven.

Gambino installed the Connect Series 354 to power the system and provide the necessary DSP. Each channel drives a low-impedance speaker hung from the high ceiling. The integrated DSP effectively eliminated the need for unnecessary equipment in the rack, the company says, ensuring the overall job cost was kept to a minimum.

The school staff was very happy with the end result because, the company says, it was exactly what they wanted: set it and forget it. The levels are set so anyone can come in and use microphones and music without any adjustments, so AV technicians are not required for most events in the Wolvarena.

WebUI allows users to check the status of every amplifier connected to the network and the status of every channel on any given amplifier to monitor channel performance. In addition, the platform allows users to view and adjust channel settings such as input settings, signal generator, crossover, equalizer, limiter, and load monitoring.

The Connect Series delivers an industry-first professional amplifier family to feature cloud connectivity, billed as a revolutionary advancement and a significant benefit for anyone maintaining the systems. With LEA Cloud, Gambino can remotely control and monitor any LEA amplifier regardless of his location or time of day, reducing travel and saving time and money.

"Being able to mix and match four ohm, eight ohm, 70V, and 100V on the same amplifier is great," says Gambino. "And my favorite fact is that you don't lose channels when you want to do that. Top it off with cloud connectivity for remote support, and that's why I use LEA amplifiers every chance I get."