July 19, 2010
TCU’s Horned Frogs Get Hopping With A New PA System
Texas Christian University’s Daniel
Meyer Coliseum, used for the Horned
Frogs basketball team, commencements,
banquets, exhibits, and other
special events, is the recent recipient a
new Electro-Voice EVA (Expandable
Vertical Array) loudspeaker system,
designed and installed by Electro
Acoustics (EA) of Fort Worth, TX.
EA asked the Dallas firm, Wrightson,
Johnson, Haddon & Williams
(WJHW) to do peer review.
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Acoustics at TCU’s Daniel Meyer Coliseum were a
challenge because the arena is a round room with a
domed ceiling. To overcome it, line arrays were used
to direct the focus of energy to the listeners.
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WJHW’s Gary White said the
installation represents the first time
his firm has encountered the speaker
system. “Reports from the installer
and the university are that the system
sounds great and provides very good
voice and music reproduction,” he said.
The main Coliseum system consists
primarily of six arrays in an outward-
facing circle, each comprised of
a set of six dual-element line array
modules: three EVA-2082S 906s,
two EVA-2082S 126s, and one EVA-
2082S 1220. Passive jumper settings
for each module were determined
in the project’s design phase using
Electro-Voice’s LAPS II line array
prediction program.
Acoustics were a challenge
because the arena is a round room
with a domed ceiling. To overcome
it, line arrays were used to direct the
focus of energy to the listeners.
TCU has been an EA customer
for some 20 years, EA president/chief
steward Chris Jordan said, for multiple
projects including previous EV
systems. “They had worked well and
reliably, but the University was ready
for a main system upgrade that could
pump up the excitement level in the
Coliseum and also improve speech
clarity and articulation.”
Typically, each power amplifier
and DSP output can only be used
for one or two modules in an array,
Jordan explained. “But with the EVA
system there are passive jumpers on
the loudspeaker that allow you to set
the overall attenuation of the speaker
and also the individual attenuation
of each high-frequency driver. This
provides quite a bit of adjustment of
each array module, but since all these
adjustments are made passively at the
speaker instead of in the digital processor,
you can feed the array from a
single DSP output and power it with
just one high-powered amplifier.”
The result, he said, is a “huge savings
in the cost of processor outputs,
power amplifiers, and wire required
for a system. If your array would have
needed six 500-watt amps, instead
you can use a single 3,000-watt amp.
At TCU, using EVAs saved more than
$75,000 compared to other line array
systems. The volume and frequency
response is exceptional. They had
their first use at TCU’s graduation
ceremonies and the commencement
service and speech were easily understood
and natural.”
Rather than putting a subwoofer
with each line array, Bosch Communication
applications engineer Stu
Schatz recommended a line array of
subs in the center of the room, just
above the scoreboard. “I developed
special processing within the sub
array for even distribution of sub
base frequencies within the room,”
he said. “The base levels are same on
floors and in the seats. This has been
used before and we will continue to
use it when applicable.”
Processing for the system was
accomplished using the EV NetMax
system. Not only did this system provide
all of the typical DSP functions,
it has the added benefit of controlling
the amplifiers and supervising the
system. The NetMax 12-inch color
touchscreen provided simple ergonomic
control of system user presets
and volume adjustment.
The system also features two mixers.
A main mixer, for basketball
events, located on a table next to the
announcer, also has a CD player and
MP3 input. Additionally, an Allen
and Heath 16-channel rack mount
mixer is available to adjust sound for
live spoken events such as commencements
and choir performances.
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