Yager Stadium, home of the RedHawks football team at Miami University in Oxford, OH, has been undergoing upgrades since 2003, with the latest stage being a new sound reinforcement system headed by Community Professional R-SERIES loudspeakers.
The previous system delivered inconsistent coverage and poor music quality, and so for several seasons the university supplemented it with rental equipment from integrator Loud and Clear (Cincinnati, OH).
That ended earlier this year when Loud and Clear’s Eric Cimini was asked to develop a plan for a completely new installed system to eliminate the need for rental equipment, provide uniform coverage and enhance the fan experience with better musical performance.
During system planning, the university considered a distributed system but decided to stay with the existing end-firing scoreboard design to utilize existing wiring and avoid the cost of stadium structural changes needed for a distributed system.
The new scoreboard system uses two Community R2-52 and ten R2-64MAX loudspeakers to cover the stands and the field. Three R6-Basshorn woofers provide long-throw LF coverage and six VLF218 subwoofers, which are rolled out below the scoreboard during games, supplement the LF performance for music.
In addition, Community R.5 and R.25 loudspeakers provide coverage beneath the stands, in restrooms and in the concessions area. The system is powered by Crown I-Tech Series amplifiers and utilizes Peavey Mediamatrix for mixing and primary DSP functions.
Loud and Clear added an Audio-Technica wireless lapel microphone for field use as well as a pair of Community dSPEC digital processors for zoning and loudspeaker management. The dSPEC zoning also allows loudspeakers covering the field or the stands to be muted during practice.
Cimini says system commissioning went well and the completed system provides uniform coverage all the way from nearby stands to the far end zone seating. When it was first turned on, the university’s athletic director was amazed at the clarity and quality of the sound. Cimini adds, “The volume from the Community R2-MAX loudspeakers is mind-boggling and the system has amazing clarity at these sound levels.”
