For those within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area of Texas, the place to hold one’s wedding reception, Quinceañera, company party, or similar type of event is now the NVT Rancho Saloon. And to ensure that all announcements, music performances, and other activities are clearly heard by those in attendance, company management recently had a new sound reinforcement system installed that utilizes loudspeakers drawn from the Event Series catalogue of DAS Audio.
Lonestar Sound Solutions LLC of Houston, TX, an AV systems design / build firm that also sells AV equipment in addition to manufacturing custom road cases, was contracted to design and deploy the new sound system at the NVT Rancho Saloon. Mike O’Dowd, Lonestar Sound Solutions’ President, was actively involved in the design and product specification process for the new SR system. He discussed the project and his decision to deploy loudspeakers from DAS Audio.
“The NVT Rancho Saloon is the ideal facility to hold a wide range of events,” O’Dowd reports. “The room measures 70 feet long by 50 feet wide, with a ceiling height of 16 feet. The stage is in the left rear corner of the space and the dance floor occupies the centre of the room. This facility is well-suited for a wide range of events, so it was important that the sound system be capable of handling everything from corporate presentations to wedding receptions—and this is precisely what led us to the deployment of the DAS Audio equipment.”
“Both music reproduction and speech intelligibility were crucial considerations in the selection of the loudspeakers,” O’Dowd added. “Because there is a considerable amount of music—both from DJs and small bands—music reproduction quality was important. Similarly, speech intelligibility was crucial. These considerations are precisely what led us to the selection and deployment of the DAS Event Series loudspeakers.”
At the rear wall, which faces into the length of the room, O’Dowd and his team flew two clusters—left and right—with each hang consisting of six DAS Event-26A ultra-compact, lightweight powered line array enclosures augmented by two Event-115A active front-loaded subwoofers positioned at the top of each hang. When queried about those attributes that made these loudspeakers an excellent choice for this project, O’Dowd referenced numerous factors, including sound quality, onboard DSP, build quality, and the system’s compact form factor.
“First and foremost,” O’Dowd explained, “sound quality must meet expectations. In this regard, the Event Series loudspeakers deliver extremely uniform coverage—both vertically and horizontally, making it easy to understand what is being said, no matter where one is located in the room. Equally important, the system reproduces the entire frequency range accurately and with a very natural sounding quality. I was also impressed with the hardware used for flying the loudspeakers. The mounting hardware is integral to the design of the enclosures, and this results in a clean looking, visually pleasing setup. Similarly, the way the flybar is designed, it facilitates installation very close to the ceiling, so there is no wasted space.”
The sound system installation at the NVT Rancho Saloon took place in May 2021 and, since May, it has been in regular use—meeting and exceeding the expectations of everyone who encounters it. “Our client is extremely happy with the DAS Audio setup,” says O’Dowd. “He has received a steady stream of compliments from both clients and performers alike. I should also add that the decision to use DAS Audio was a great choice. The product was obviously designed with a fine-tooth comb. Absolutely everything about the design and build of the system has been meticulously thought through. Further, whenever a question arose, the DAS Miami team was always ready to assist. In terms of the bottom line, the DAS Event Series loudspeakers were the ideal choice for this project.”
