Crown solution for Pensacola Christian College
Published: WORSHIP
WORLD: Audio and lighting contractor All Pro Sound recently installed Crown CTs series amplifiers with Pip-Blu programmable input processor cards into the 3,500 capacity Dale Horton Auditorium (DHA) at Florida’s Pensacola Christian College.
The facility required a versatile system that could accommodate its worship services, theatrical and musical productions as well as the college’s own productions and lectures.
‘The Dale Horton Auditorium is an absolute gem – with one glaring exception,’ noted John Fuqua, vice president, All Pro Sound. ‘The sound system was the original one that was installed when the Dale Horton Auditorium was built in 1986. It needed to be completely replaced. Crown CTs Series amplifiers with Blu-Link cards were ideal for this application.’
Twenty Crown CTs 3000, 10 CTs 1200 and seven CTs 600 amplifiers, all with Pip-Blu cards were installed in the auditorium. The amps operate in conjunction with two BSS Blu-160 signal processors with digital audio bus, two Blucard-in input cards, six Blucard-out output cards and two Blu-BOB2 break-out-boxes.
‘The Crown CTs Series amplifiers with Blu-Link cards have remote monitoring and control capability, so we can operate, control power sequencing and configure them from a central location,’ explained Mr Fuqua. ‘We’re using the BSS Audio Soundweb London platform because we already have it deployed in several other areas on campus including the Crowne Centre auditorium, which is another large facility. Using BSS throughout Pensacola Christian College ensures compatibility and familiarity with the equipment and programming by everyone who uses it.’
In addition to the Crown and BSS components, a Soundcraft Vi6 digital mixing console is also used in the DHA for front of house mixing.
‘The Crown amplifiers and BSS components work flawlessly together,’ he enthused. ‘Actually, the biggest challenge in the DHA installation was the fact that it was labour intensive – we had to completely replace the existing 26-year-old system and put in a new one that was ready to go in the space of five weeks. The result was worth it – the new system is far superior in overall sound quality and speech intelligibility, and the amps are much more adaptable to whatever kind of programme they want to hold in the DHA, from a single lecturer to a complete theatrical production.’