A pair of aquatic centre sound system installs from Chilliwack-based integrators Go Audio has resulted in two novel design approaches, which feature Renkus-Heinz Iconyx digitally steered arrays.
Situated in Chilliwack, BC, Canada, both Cheam Leisure Centre and cross-town neighbour Chilliwack Landing Leisure Centre required the new systems. Local Integrator Go Audio was charged with design and implementation.
Combinations of high walls, corrugated metal roofs, and an abundance of concrete, glass, and water instantly threw up problems for the installers.
A novel approach was therefore taken, in which the Iconyx were suspended from the roof overhead, and the beams were steered to focus the sound away from the walls and other highly reflective surfaces.
The Cheam project saw Go Audio’s Mike Evans assisted by local Renkus-Heinz rep Fred Gilpin. The chosen system incorporates six IC7-WR powered column arrays, with a Rane processor handling system DSP.
“Because of the Iconyx’s very narrow vertical dispersion, we positioned four IC7’s horizontally over the outer walkway, aimed slightly inward,” explained Evans. “We were able to keep the sound completely off the walls and cover just the walkway and a bit of the pool. Two more IC7’s suspended at 45º cover the water with minimal overlap. The coverage is seamless wherever you are, with no need for delays.”
Based on the success of the Cheam project, Go Audio was called back to revamp the audio system at Chilliwack Landing. “That project was a bit more challenging,” disclosed Evans. “The space is configured a bit differently, and there was some ductwork we had to work around as well. We ended up using a total of ten Iconyx boxes to cover everything.” With an existing rack of Crown CTi-series amplifiers and wiring already in place, the decision was made to go with unpowered ICX7-WR units.
Evans reports that management and patrons alike at both venues have been very pleased with the results: “The primary objective was spoken word intelligibility for safety announcements and such,” he said. “But the Iconyx has been great for background music as well. Typically in this sort of environment, it’s just too reverberant to run background music at the levels necessary to overcome the ambient noise. But with the Iconyx, the music is exceptionally articulate, even at lower levels.”
