The new facilities of St. Mary’s Catholic Church and Elementary School in Joplin, MO, built after the previous buildings were destroyed in a devastating tornado in 2011, includes a multipurpose cafeteria with a flexible sound reinforcement system headed by an Ashly Audio Pema 4250.70 network Protea matrix processor and 4-channel amplifier.
The Pema 4250.70 DSP/amp package delivers the flexibility to allow even non-technical staff to set up the system using Ashly neWR-5 remote controls.
David Walters, president and principal consultant at Diversified Design Group (Lincoln, Nebraska) designed the system for St. Mary’s Elementary School, with installation by local A/V integration firm Total Electronics Contracting.
In all, 48 JBL Control 26-DT in-ceiling loudspeakers deliver sound to the cafeteria in three separate zones, strategically aligned to facilitate different uses. Inputs to the system include a CD player, a DVD player, three hard-wired microphone jacks, and a Shure wireless microphone system. The system resides in a Middle Atlantic rack with Middle Atlantic power conditioning.
The backbone of the system is the Ashly Pema 4250.70, which provides a 8×8 Protea matrix processor and a 4-channel network amplifier that delivers 250 watts per channel into each 70-volt zone, as well as all the processing necessary for customized user control. A handful of networked Ashly neWR-5 remote controls mounted with the equipment rack allow users to select inputs and adjust their volumes.
“The Ashly Pema’s simplicity is amazing,” says Nate Pugh, A/V specialist at Total Electronics Contracting. “The Protea processing software was easy to program and will be easy to maintain, and it fits all of the system’s processing and amplification in just two rack spaces. The range of options is also impressive. It was great to get the 70-volt option with the right power delivery and still have the 8×8 DSP up front.
“It’s an excellent, go-to product for installations like St. Mary’s,” he continues. “The fact that we could customize the neWR-5 remote controls cinched it. We were able to give them controls that anyone will be able to walk up to and use. Again, perfect for a situation like this.”
