The Bowmansville (New York) Volunteer Fire Department recently secured modest funds to refurbish the A/V systems in its 4,500-square foot recreation room, a project headed by a new Ashly Audio Pema 4250.70 combination 8×8 Protea matrix processor and 4-channel amplifier.
“The old audio system was little more than a basic mixer-amplifier and a few wired mics,” explains Karl Maciag, A/V integrations engineer at Toshiba Business Solutions in nearby Tonawanda, NY, which designed and installed the new system.
“They had terrible gain-before-feedback and marginal intelligibility,” Maciag continues. “Of course, budget was a big concern, which necessitated re-using the existing loudspeakers, but with (the addition of) a new Ashly Pema processor and amplifier. We sold the department’s point-person on the Pema by bringing him to another fire company where we had installed it. He loved it, along with the remote control that made it easy to select sources and adjust volumes.
In addition, the Pema was critical because it packs ample DSP and four 250-watt amplifiers in just two rack units, and space was a premium on the project. The system is split in two main zones: one for the bar area and another for the rest of the room, including a new projection system .
One Ashly neWR-5 remote control in each zone allows intuitive selection of AM/FM, cable, a resident computer, a computer tie-in, an MP3 player jack, and two new wireless microphones, along with master volume control. A small Crestron keypad controls the projection system.
“We were early adopters of the Ashly Pema and we’ve had great success with it ever since,” says Maciag. “It’s one of the variables that we never have to worry about. Moreover, the Pema – like all Ashly products – sounds great, with transparent but effective algorithms and faithful amplification.”
“The Ashly Pema is also a good size for jobs like this,” adds Leamon Hall, the technician with Toshiba Business Solutions who installed and commissioned the system. “It has eight inputs, which is enough to cover most input counts with a few to spare that the client can grow into. Ashly’s control protocol is well constructed.
“It’s easy to set up the network neWR-5 controller for a customized interface, and if I ever have questions, Ashly tech support staff are always ready with an answer. In short, the Ashly Pema is deeply functional, easy to configure, and quick to deploy.”
Although the existing loudspeakers were not everything Maciag had hoped for, the Pema’s extensive equalization controls allowed Hall to dial in sound quality that would give the BVFD plenty of gain before feedback and intelligibility.
