The sound reinforcement system serving the nearly 6,000-seat Crowne Centre at Pensacola Christian College in Florida was recently upgraded by All Pro Integrated Systems (based in Pensacola) with components from Danley Sound Labs, including Jericho Horns, TH118XL subwoofers and DNA-series amplifiers.
“We put the original sound system in the Crowne Centre when the building was new almost 20 years ago,” explains Scott Vegte, director of sales operations at All Pro Integrated Systems. “It performed well for technology of the time, but it had passed its sunset age. Components were failing, and the manufacturer was no longer making replacements. We started talking about upgrading in 2018 and moved into planning in 2019. Because the Crowne Centre gets used almost daily, we knew we would have a short window to do the actual installation. Everyone involved knew there would have to be plenty of planning to make the installation smooth and successful.”
The new main system replaces 50 loudspeakers with eight Danley J7-95 Jericho Horns and a pair of Danley SH46s for side fills. The Jericho Horns are arranged in four hangs of two boxes each – one for the main floor and one for the balcony. Four Danley TH118XL subwoofers hang from a center scrim and provide the low end. Although the eight Jericho Horns cover the vast majority of seats, 54 distributed Danley SH95 loudspeakers serve the under-balcony area. In addition, eight Danley SHmini loudspeakers are posted on the lip of the convertible stage for front fill as needed.
“We traveled with the team from All Pro to InfoComm 2019 in Orlando to ‘go shopping’ for possible replacement systems,” explains Greg Moses, TV and DVD production director at Pensacola Christian College. “We listened to five of the biggest names in high-end live sound systems. Danley was one of them, and we were thoroughly impressed with their presentation at InfoComm. They showed us a huge number of consistent-sounding products to fit different situations.” Moses and his colleagues invited the top contenders to provide a demonstration, with Danley exibiting the J7-95.
“Point source is really the way to go when you can long-throw,” states Chris Wickizer, systems designer with All Pro Integrated Systems. “And Danley’s point-source designs are excellent. They sound natural even when they are running flat.”
After the results of the demonstration, Wickizer worked to design a system meeting the sonic criteria while also working within the framework of the existing system to minimize installation time, including the preservation of fabric-wrapped loudspeaker enclosures that retain the visual aesthetic of the previous system.
On top of the reduction in loudspeakers, All Pro replaced 66 amplifiers with 13 Danley DNA-series multi-channel units –seven 4-channel DNA 20k4 Pro, five 8-channel DNA 10k8 Pro, and one 8-channel DNA 3k8 Pro. Together they provide 76 amplifier channels with onboard DSP, and all include optional Dante inputs. As part of the installation, All Pro also upgraded the Crowne Centre front of house and broadcast consoles from Studer Vista 9 to Studer Vista X.
“The new Danley system is remarkably better than our old system,” Moses concludes. “Everyone who has heard it says that the sound seems to be coming from right in front of you. It’s very intimate and pleasing even though the Jericho Horns are fifty feet off the floor and one hundred feet away! At the same time, it’s not overpowering. We love the improved efficiency. With Danley we have far fewer loudspeakers and amplifiers to worry maintain. The coverage is perfectly even from front to back and from side to side. There are no dead spots or hot spots, no dips or lags. Even though I know exactly where the transition points are, I can barely detect them. Critically, the intelligibility is fantastic – everyone can understand exactly what’s being said.”
