Two One Systems 108IM loudspeakers were recently installed in the Oklahoma State Supreme Court chamber to resolve vocal clarity concerns.
Located in the historic Capitol building in Oklahoma City, the chamber had been plagued with intelligibility issues for years. The assistant to the Chief Justice contacted nearby Audio Associates to remedy the situation.
“We have a 40+ year history of designing, installing and maintaining sound systems utilized in the Capitol building, including the House of Representatives and Senate chambers,” explains Greg Robertson, owner of Audio Associates. “All of the rooms have plenty of hard surfaces and are extremely reverberant. Intelligibility is always a problem.”
The Supreme Court chamber is approximately 40 feet deep, 60 feet wide with 25 foot ceilings. The Justices are seated behind a raised bench in the front of the room. Wooden benches behind the bar provide seating for 60+ spectators.
After careful evaluation, Robertson determined that a pair of One Systems 108IM loudspeakers would cover the room extremely well. The loudspeakers were positioned on the left and right corners of the wooden structure located behind the bench, approximately 12 feet off the ground.
The 108IM is loaded with an 8-inch (203.2 mm) woofer and a One Systems’ ETS driver coupled to a fully rotatable, constant-directivity high-frequency horn. The 60-degree by 40-degree coverage pattern ensures complete and even coverage throughout the room, including the justices on the bench.
The eleven miniature, cardioid condenser gooseneck microphones are controlled by two Shure SCM810 8-channel automatic microphone mixer.
“The goal was to provide sound reinforcement for microphones used by the Justices, the witness and the court clerk,” adds Robertson. “We ultimately equalized the room using narrow band and very narrow band filters and “tuned” the reverberant frequencies out – the end result was crystal clear sound.”
Established in 1969, Audio Associates is a consulting, design, sales, installation and service provider in the Oklahoma City area. They have installed One Systems loudspeakers in many applications with very positive results.
“The Justices were absolutely thrilled with the new system,” Robertson concludes. “The quality of the loudspeakers is very impressive. The difference between the new and old systems is like night and day.”