A recent renovation of the 2,500-capacity outdoor stadium at Eastern High School, in Voorhees, NJ included a sound sytsem upgrade performed by JD Sound and Video of Laurel Springs, NJ and headed by Community Professional R-Series, WET Series and iBOX loudspeakers.
The stadium previously had four Community R-Series model R2-474 loudspeakers on light poles – two at both ends of the home team bleachers. JD Sound and Video refurbished these, usingPolar Focus brackets to re-aim them for optimal coverage.
They were joined by a new pair of WET Series W2-218s on the press box to cover the home-team bleachers, with the original R2s delayed to avoid artificial echoes. JD also added an R2-52 on the press box aimed to cover the visiting team bleachers.
For pep rallies and special events, two weatherized Community iBOX dual-15-in i215 subwoofers were installed under the bleachers to provide low-frequency support for the entire field.
“The original system was better than most high school sound systems,” states Joe DiSabatino of JD Sound and Video. “But now, the coverage is improved and the students love the subwoofers. You can really feel the music.”
Electronics are located in the press box and include a Rane mixer, Shure wireless microphone system and Crown power amplifiers. A Community dSPEC DSP loudspeaker processor was chosen to provide all equalization, delay and loudspeaker optimization.
In addition, JD added an iPod/iPhone input at trackside with a microphone input, volume control and key switch. For practices or simple events, this setup allows coaches or students to operate the system without accessing the main controls in the press box.
Phil Smart, Eastern vice principal of athletics, says the upgraded sound system is better than many college stadium systems, adding that JD was able to aim the loudspeakers to cover the bleachers and field while limiting the spill into the adjacent neighborhoods.
“The new system makes it sound like my announcers went to articulation training,” he said. “The sound is awesome – we’re the envy of South Jersey.”