San Jose’s McEnery Convention Center installs the world’s first self-powered Meyer Sound exhibit hall overhead systems.
With 226 individually addressable loudspeakers plus 60 subwoofers, the solution provides flexible, full bandwidth response in standalone operation and accommodates use as a delay system when temporary line arrays are deployed for large conference sessions.
Spearheading was Tim Foster, director of production for Team San Jose – the management group charged with operation of the facility on behalf of the city.
The new sound reinforcement system has been designed and installed by Integrated Communication Systems of San Jose, with Mark Berlo heading the design team for all audio components as well as control infrastructure.
A core proposal was to implement a ceiling sound reinforcement system that could integrate seamlessly as delay systems whenever front line arrays are brought in for conference sessions. But in order to accomplish this regardless of the zero point (stage location), the system would not only require linear, full bandwidth response but also offer the ability to delay each loudspeaker individually.
“When Tim Foster explained the goals for this project, I knew we would have to put in a system that would be accepted by A-1 engineers hired by prestige clients for major events,” Mark related. “Also, in order to seamlessly integrate with front arrays we would need a system with linear phase and frequency response. The loudspeakers had to be compact and lightweight, and we had to provide the ability to delay each loudspeaker individually so that we could adapt to a zero point at any stage location.”
The latter requirement heavily favoured Meyer Sound’s unique IntelligentDC technology, which combines the sonic advantages of self-powered loudspeakers with the installation benefits of low voltage systems. Each loudspeaker receives a discrete, dedicated line level audio signal plus 48V DC power from a remote, rack-mounted MPS-488HP power supply unit. The technology also affords comprehensive status monitoring of all loudspeakers in the system. “IntelligentDC is really the only cost-effective way to get that ultimate level of performance and total flexibility for delaying each loudspeaker,” said Mark.
The MPS-488HP units receive dedicated signals for the 226 main loudspeakers from the newly expanded networked DSP system, allowing each loudspeaker to be individually delayed, equalised or muted. The main loudspeaker selected for the project was the Meyer Sound UPJunior-XP, a compact two-way system offering a precisely defined 80 degree by 50 degree coverage pattern. To extend flat system bandwidth to the lowest octaves, an added total of 60 Amie-Sub subwoofers are configured as 20 triplets in cardioid configurations.
For Tim Foster of Team San Jose, the audio renovation marks a turning point. “We’ve broken a barrier in our ability to leverage in-house technologies, and Meyer Sound is the most significant component in that breakthrough,” he concluded.
