With its backdrop of the San Gabriel Mountains, Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, CA is considered by many to be the world’s most beautiful thoroughbred racetrack, and it now offers improved sound reinforcement via a new system headed by loudspeakers from Community Professional.
The track, which hosts some of the most prominent racing events in the U.S., including the Breeders’ Cup and the Santa Anita Handicap, had previously been served by a system installed in the late 1990s that utilized four pole-mounted loudspeaker clusters aimed back at the spectators.
However, after a major renovation in 2013 along with a new press box and additional luxury suites, the pole-mounted loudspeaker clusters faced a wide expanse of newly-added glass, causing unwanted audio reflections onto the seating and the track.
In 2014, Santa Anita asked AMT Systems of Santa Clarita, CA for a proposal for a new system to eliminate the reflections, add audio coverage in some of the newer areas and upgrade the overall sound quality to meet the expectations of today’s racing fans. AMT designed a distributed system, using Community R SERIES loudspeakers, to meet these goals.
“We knew a distributed system would give us good control and allow us to focus the audio energy on the guests and greatly minimize reflections from the glass surfaces,” says Tim Carlson, president of AMT, “and, by bringing the loudspeakers closer to the listeners, we got a more intimate sound quality with excellent intelligibility.”
Specifically, the new system incorporates 13 model R2-694, 15 model R2-94s and six model R.5-99 loudspeakers distributed under the canopy. “We knew the R SERIES loudspeakers would give us the control and sound quality we wanted,” Carlson adds, “and their weather-resistance is unmatched.”
AMT also added 48 D SERIES model DS5-W surface-mount loudspeakers to provide audio coverage for the Turn 1 Pavilion. Crown Audio DCI Series amplifiers drive the loudspeakers, while the track’s existing Peavey NION front-end and DSP was retained. A portable Soundcraft Performer mixer allows system operation from the Winner’s Circle. For events that don’t require the mixer, the system can be operated from NION controls in other locations.
Carlson concludes, “We were able to conquer the reflection problem and the quality is great for music as well as voice. The track has received lots of positive comments about the new system from racing fans and even from the national anthem soloists.”