When Downstream Casino Resort expanded by adding a six-storey tower, the venue hired A1 Audio to design and install a comprehensive distributed audio system. With its parking lot in Kansas, its main entrance in Missouri, and its gaming facilities and guest accommodations in Oklahoma, Downstream Casino Resort is quite literally on top of the region’s historic tri-state junction. The Quapaw Tribe-operated facility opened in 2008 and attracts approximately two million visitors annually. Building on its tremendous success, Downstream Casino Resort undertook an ambitious expansion plan to add a six-storey tower with 155 additional guest rooms, restaurants, event spaces, and spa services. The Tribe hired A1 Audio of nearby Branson, Missouri to design and install a comprehensive distributed audio system, and A1 Audio delivered, in part by specifying a modest rack of high-powered, low-cost Ashly KLR-3200 amplifiers. For years, Downstream Casino Resort has relied on A1 Audio for live show rentals and technical support. When plans materialized for the new expansion, the Quapaw called on A1 Audio to bring that same level of professionalism to its new facilities. For reasons outside of A1 Audio’s control, the timeline on the new project was incredibly tight. “Massive crews from all the trades swarmed the new construction,” explained Pete Savel, vice president of A1 Audio. “At one point when we were pulling cable, they had something like 250 guys on drywall! It was a huge undertaking.” Despite the rush, the new system is elegant and refined, in harmony with the architecture and professionalism of the casino and resort staff. In strategic locations throughout the tower, 80 Community loudspeakers from the 70 Volt D4, D6, and D8 wide-dispersion series deliver articulate, full-frequency content. In a few locations with less than six inches of ceiling space, low-profile Community D4LP deliver comparable performance. Yamaha DME-N series processors provide all input conditioning and matrixing, and an AMX system provides user control via an intuitive iPad interface. Five dual-channel Ashly KLR-3200 amplifiers power the entire system. “The Ashly KLR-Series amplifiers are tremendously powerful, yet remarkably affordable,” said Savel. “Nothing else comes close on a performance-to-cost basis. We’ve used them in several installations now, and they worked from day one without a single glitch. That’s the kind of reliability we count on.” www.ashly.com
