When the Pinellas County School District in Florida decided to upgrade sound throughout its performing arts centres it began with three schools: Dunedin, Lakewood and Largo High. The three systems subsequently designed utilised Entasys three-way column line-arrays from Community.
The Pinellas County School District is the seventh largest in the state and the 21st largest in the United States. The district has 16 performing arts centres shared among its 141 elementary, middle, high and specialty public schools.
Recognising that each performing arts facility used a variety of mismatched components with many inadequate designs, Mike Vetter, the District's technology specialist for the Performing Arts, spearheaded an initiative to upgrade the auditoriums, installing new sound systems to meet the demands of the growing performing arts program. Vetter began with three Performing Arts Schools: Dunedin, Lakewood and Largo High.
Vetter contacted Michael Keane of Keane Acoustics in Oldsmar, Florida, who designed each of the three systems utilising Entasys three-way, column line-arrays from Community Professional Loudspeakers. The installation was completed by Tampa-based BCI Integrated Solutions, led by Bill Fairchild. The project schedule required all work to be completed during summer break, a short 65 days.
With the multi-use requirements of these facilities, Keane selected two Entasys modules for either side of the stage in each venue. "Community loudspeakers and brackets [are] made for a seamless installation," observed BCI's Steve Sanders. "Other loudspeakers would have doubled the labour time.”
The Entasys loudspeakers delivered uniform coverage to every seat with linear phase and a full rich sound," added BCI president Grant Becker, who assisted Keane in tuning the auditoriums. "Very little equalisation was required to achieve a great performance. We foresee many more successful Community installations in the Pinellas School District's auditoriums."