The football stadiums at Orange and Cedar Ridge High Schools, both in Hillsborough, NC, now have new sound reinforcement systems headed by weatherized loudspeakers from WorxAudio Technologies, courtesy of Burlington, NC-based Boone Audio, a leading design/build firm founded by Paul Boone in 1985.
Because both stadiums had essentially identical requirements, Boone and his team deployed two identical systems headed up by WorxAudio TrueLine S-XL3-15 two-way line arrays mated with the company’s S-118S subwoofer. Power is provided by WorxAudio PXD-2580 and PSD-700 digital amplifiers.
“Both schools had identical challenges on the field,” Boone states. “The problems revolved around outdated sound reinforcement technology that simply wasn’t adequate for the size of the area. Both schools had horn-driven systems of the megaphone variety, so sound quality and speech intelligibility was poor to begin with—and the problem was compounded by the size of the area that required coverage.
“After meeting with school officials to determine what they hoped to achieve while staying within a limited budget, we ultimately decided that line array technology and a robust subwoofer would make a good choice.”
The WorxAudio S-XL3-15 is a 15-degree vertical dispersion, fiberglass reinforced, weatherized loudspeaker system that incorporates three modules, each with a large format compression driver with a 3-inch diaphragm and 1.4-inch exit coupled to a stabilized proprietary FlatWave Former (wave shaping device) that delivers clear high frequencies over a predictable and controlled coverage area. The S-118S subwoofer is a weatherized system incorporating a single 18-inch low frequency transducer designed to satisfy the need for a high SPL sub bass loudspeaker system.
The equipment—as deployed at both schools—is essentially a ground stacked loudspeaker setup that resides on the roof of the press box located on each field.
“At each school, the press box resides in the center of the home team grandstands,” Boone reports. “For each installation, we mounted a 3 foot by 3 foot metal deck with adjustable legs onto the roof of the press box. This enabled us to compensate for the roof’s slope—effectively creating a level platform for the loudspeakers. The S-118S subwoofer sits on the platform and the S-XL3-15 is positioned atop the subwoofer.
“The two power amplifiers—the WorxAudio PXD-2580 for the S-XL3-15 and the PSD-700 for the subwoofer—are rack-mounted and reside inside each press box,” he continues. “A weather shielded cable connects the amps to the loudspeakers on the roof. The PXD-2580 power amp also contains DSP functionality, so everything needed for the sound system is contained within this compact and highly efficient system.”
The new WorxAudio loudspeaker systems were deployed several months back, and since that time, Boone reports he’s received countless compliments on the new systems’ performance. “Both systems have been really well received,” says Boone. “I remember when we were finalizing the sound at Orange High School, the principal was so impressed with what he heard that he actually came out onto the field, spent several minutes complimenting the members of my crew, and then proceeded to provide beverages to each of the guys. That doesn’t happen very often.
“Further, the athletic director, coaches, as well as students and parents alike, report that the football games are so much more enjoyable now that they can hear what’s taking place. I’m really proud of these two projects, and the tireless technical support of the WorxAudio crew that helped make it all happen.”