The Riverside Casino & Golf Resort, located just south of Iowa City, is also home to a multipurpose Events Center that offers a busy schedule of top name entertainment featuring artists like Big & Rich, Peter Frampton, The Robert Cray Band, and Tony Orlando, as well as hosting corporate, community and private functions.
The resort has recently upgraded its in-house audio capabilities with the installation of four Renkus-Heinz CF101LA modular point source array loudspeakers. Marvin Smejkal, owner of Sound Concepts, a production sound installation and rental company with offices in Iowa, Missouri and Florida, notes that the project presented a number of challenges.
“The original in-house, distributed voice reinforcement system was insufficient for many of the venue’s functions, but it was generally cost prohibitive to bring in a larger rental rig,” says Smejkal, adding that the self-powered CF101LA loudspeakers serve a dual purpose, both as a primary voice reinforcement system for smaller events and as center in-fill for larger PA rental rigs.
“The venue has unique requirements due to an exceptionally wide stage,” he continues, “and when we bring in a large PA for concerts, the speakers have to be positioned in a wide configuration, making a center-fill necessary. It was costly and time-prohibitive to set up and tear down a flown center cluster on a show-by-show basis. Now, the CF101LA system can be used as the primary PA for small and mid-sized events, and as a center fill to augment a larger PA systems for big concerts.”
Smejkal designed and installed a basic four-loudspeaker setup requiring no additional processing or EQ. “The venue has a portable audio/visual mixer for breakout rooms, which can simply plug into an XLR in for smaller events. The CF101LA speakers are incorporated into every large show; when we come in we have a program to add them into our rental system.
“The self-powered speakers are a cost-effective option when there is limited space to permanently install additional equipment in a venue. “The CF101LAs are convenient, and are fulfilling a wide variety of needs, both as a stand-alone system for the venue’s day-to-day needs, and in the demanding role of center fills when larger line arrays are widely spread for larger events.”
The CF101LA speakers proved to be a unique problem solver, he concludes. “Those speakers deliver at that price point. We will use them again.”