Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on the campus of East Carolina University in Greenville, NC, which opened in 1963 and now has a capacity of 51,000, has implemented an upgraded sound reinforcement system that’s headed by the first installation of Danley Sound Labs J8-94 full-range loudspeakers, joining other recent improvements at the facility.
“In 2010, we put in a PA system,” says Greg Pierce, associate athletics director of external relations at the university. “As time went on, we lost amps and speakers. Before long, the band-aids were becoming more expensive than the surgery, so we decided to do something new.”
North Carolina-based PC Sound and Danley partner Precision Audio were selected for the project. “This is the first installation in the country of Danley’s new J8-94,” notes Scott Carneval of Precision Audio. “One of the incredible things about Danley loudspeakers is that we can cover the entire field from the scoreboard. With other products to get intelligible sound and clarity, it requires a distributed system which means infrastructure and installing dozens if not hundreds of speakers. With Danley, we can generate that same quality with just a handful of speakers.”
The system utilizes two J8-94 loudspeakers for far coverage joined by two J7-95 loudspeakers for near coverage, an SH62 loudspeaker for field coverage and three SH46 loudspeakers as downfills from the scoreboard. In addition, there are four BC415 subwoofers in the board, and all loudspeakers are powered by Danley DNA20K4 amplifiers.
“For me, it’s wonderful as I don’t hear any complaints,” says Jon Gilbert, athletic director at East Carolina University. “We have new video boards, new LED ribbon boards, but I’d argue that the fan base is most excited about the new sound system.”
“The biggest change is the crispness of the audio,” adds Pierce. “When you can walk into a facility like this, you can feel the hits, the cheers, the boos for the other team. Now, when you can feel the announcer say ‘First Down Pirates’ and the music, it makes a huge difference.”
