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| The new system uses Community R2-52 and R2-64MAX loudspeakers to cover the stands and the field |
With the success of its football program, Miami University began a series of upgrades to Yager Stadium in 2003. The improvements included a new artificial turf playing surface, a broadcast-quality field lighting system and a large screen video scoreboard.
However, the existing stadium sound system was retained, forcing RedHawks football fans to endure inconsistent coverage and poor music quality. For several seasons, the university supplemented the system with rental equipment from integrator Loud and Clear. But, in 2014, they asked Loud and Clear’s Eric Cimini to provide a completely new installed system to eliminate the need for rental equipment, provide uniform coverage and enhance the fan experience with better musical performance.
During system planning, the university considered a distributed system but decided to stay with the existing end-firing scoreboard design to utilise existing wiring and avoid the cost of stadium structural changes needed for a distributed system.
The new scoreboard system uses two Community R2-52 and ten R2-64MAX loudspeakers to cover the stands and the field. Three R6-Basshorn woofers provide long-throw LF coverage and six VLF218 subwoofers, which are rolled out below the scoreboard during games, supplement the LF performance for music. Community R.5 and R.25 loudspeakers provide coverage beneath the stands, in restrooms and in the concessions area.
The system is powered by Crown iTech amplifiers and utilises a Peavey Media Matrix for mixing and primary DSP functions. Loud and Clear added an Audio-Technica wireless lapel microphone for field use and a pair of Community dSPEC DSP processors for zoning and loudspeaker management. The dSPEC zoning also allows loudspeakers covering the field or the stands to be muted during practice.
Cimini says system commissioning went well and the completed system provides uniform coverage all the way from nearby stands to the far end zone seating. When the system was first turned on, the university’s athletic director was amazed at the clarity and quality of the sound. Cimini adds, “The volume from the Community R2-MAX loudspeakers is mind-boggling and the system has amazing clarity at these sound levels.”
