Grund Audio Design Loudspeaker System Deployed at New Fremont High School in MichiganWith the 2012-2013 academic year just kicking into gear, the Fremont Public Schools opened the doors to its brand new high school: appropriately named the New Fremont High School. Built at a cost of $39.9M, the 170,000-sq,-ft. structure incorporates two gymnasiums, cutting edge science labs, geothermal wells for heating and cooling, and much more. The main gymnasium also serves as a multipurpose room. To ensure the best possible audio quality for the myriad of events that are envisioned to take place in the new space, the Fremont Public Schools elected to install a potent sound reinforcement system drawn from the catalog of Council Bluffs, Iowa-based Grund Audio Design. Grand Haven, Michigan-based ElectroMedia Inc., a telecommunications and AV integration company with a focus on commercial projects for businesses, schools, health care facilities, houses of worship, and office complexes, was contracted to design and deploy the new sound reinforcement system. After meeting with school district officials to ascertain their expectations for the new sound system, Ron Mielecki, the firm's sales engineer, penned a setup consisting of twenty Grund Audio Design UB-16RN under balcony loudspeakers, augmented by four GT-LPB24C subwoofers. He discussed the nature of the project. "The new gym/multipurpose room is one of the larger high school complexes of its kind I've seen in its class," states Mielecki, "and there was a major push to make this area outstanding in terms of its sound system. A high level of speech intelligibility and first-rate music reproduction capabilities were deemed critical. This way, spectators at the various sporting events could hear announcements clearly while larger special occasions such as a graduation ceremony would have equally compelling music playback qualities. With its 40' ceiling and an elevated running track around the room's perimeter, the challenge was to deploy a loudspeaker system that could deliver consistent sound quality throughout the room without being hampered by the overhead track." The solution was found in Grund Audio Design's UB-16RN under balcony loudspeakers. Featuring dual 8" Neo cone transducers mated with a 1" Neo compression driver and an asymmetrical horn, the loudspeaker has a unique bracket design that enables it to serve as a dual array system -- and this is precisely what made these loudspeakers the ideal choice for Mielecki's design. The UB-16RN loudspeakers are deployed in eight clusters of two elements each and are positioned along the length of the court just forward of and aimed at the courtside spectator stands, four per side. To augment those loudspeakers, there are four additional UB-16RN loudspeakers that are strategically flown above center court. These enclosures are evenly spaced and downfire over the main area. For low frequency support, Mielecki's design called for four Grund Audio Design GT-LPB24C subwoofers. These enclosures are flown two units per side -- positioned equally over each half of the space. These sub bass systems are aligned with the dual cluster UB-16RN arrays, thus directing most of the impact at the spectators. The Grund Audio Design GT-LPB24C is a high power, low profile sub bass system comprised of two 12" low frequency transducers. The subwoofer is uniquely qualified for sound reinforcement applications where small format point source or line array loudspeaker systems are deployed and, hence, these four enclosures were a perfect match for the UB-16RN arrays. Loudspeaker management tasks are handled by a BSS Audio Soundweb London BLU-100 signal processor while four Crown XTi 4000 power amplifiers drive the system. The New Fremont High School sound system in the main gymnasium went live during a special opening ceremony on August 26th and, since that time; the system has impressed all who encounter it. "The Fremont Public Schools wanted stadium quality performance," Mielecki reports, "but like all public school systems, they had to work within realistic budget constraints, so value was every bit as important as performance. By using Grund Audio Design loudspeaker systems, I knew that I could give them the kind of performance they wanted for less than the cost of systems from the 'big name' manufacturers. Having used Grund Audio Design products for years, I was confident in the system I specified. The district officials trusted me and I delivered." "Upon completing the training and demonstration of the system," Mielecki continued, "the school principle smiled and said, 'Thank you, this is exactly what I wanted.' He went on to say I should feel free to send anyone I wanted his way and he would provide a glowing recommendation. In no uncertain terms, this positive response to the new sound system is primarily due to the exemplary performance of the Grund Audio Design equipment." 
|
