When Crossover were initially approached to survey the multi-purpose auditorium space in Northwood College for Girls we found that the existing audio system was low quality, over-complicated, and in a poor state of repair (especially a lot of the audio connections).
Hence Crossover were engaged to provide a high-quality solution that would deliver in the long-term and be much more ‘fit for purpose’: powerful enough to project high quality sound clearly throughout the hall, even when the space is filled to capacity, and very straightforward to use so that even non-technical staff are empowered to make full and proper use of the AV facilities.
Several problems were also identified with the school’s existing loudspeaker layout:
- The previous loudspeaker layout was prone to uneven sound coverage throughout the space.
- Sound was directed back onto the stage from the loudspeakers positioned further down the auditorium, reducing the ‘gain before feedback’ (i.e. volume) that the system can produce. This would also be distracting for someone performing or presenting on stage.
- Projecting sound from speakers mounted on the side walls, rather than projecting from the same direction as the stage, is confusing for a listener facing the stage (because the sound is coming from a different direction to the people making the sound on stage). Crossover’s solution helped to anchor the sound to the performers on the stage.
Crossover coordinated a proposed loudspeaker system design with Martin Audio, an award-winning manufacturer of professional-grade audio systems. Our design was approved by a specialist from Martin Audio and offered substantial improvement on the problems highlighted above.
Wireless microphone systems, with both handheld and headset mics, were incorporated into the sound system, with a robust antennae set up installed to ensure a healthy sound signal is delivered even when the auditorium is packed during high profile events.
Crossover designed, supplied and commissioned a brand new touch-panel based control system, allowing powerful control of the audio systems from a multi-point touch screen display, that is designed with very simple control pages with a couple of virtual faders on them for non-technical users to use, and more advanced control pages with all microphones for trained users to use. Removing the over-complicated, and largely redundant mixing console that was central to the previous audio system hugely simplified system use.
