The 100-year-old University Presbyterian Church, located in the University of
Washington campus in Seattle is a 100,000 square foot multi-purpose gymnasium
used for a variety of contemporary worship events. Jeffrey Blackburn, Director of
Media Service, recently called upon the services of TR Professional to redesign the
Church’s outdated amplifier system network which is now run exclusively on
Lab.gruppen D Series.
Larson Hall, a multi-purpose room within the Church, seats 1,200 attendees and is
used every Tuesday evening for the Church’s College Ministry Outreach Worship
Program, which has been active since the 1950’s. Over 500 college students are in
attendance on these evenings alone and with other ceremonies taking place
throughout the week the sound quality had to be on top performance.
Utilizing a McCauley line array loudspeaker system, the entire system required a
great deal of power, which made the search for new amplification that much more
challenging.
“The original amplifiers and loudspeakers were installed 20 years ago,’ explains
Blackburn. “There were more than 30 amplifiers located throughout the entire
building, but they were beginning to fail, which sparked our search for their
replacements. When Lab.gruppen introduced the D Series it was the first time I saw
an amplifier that I thought could get the job done well,’ adds Blackburn. “It was
pretty incredible, two D 120:4Ls could replace eight of the old amplifiers and
provide a much higher level of performance. I was sold.’
The unique feature of the D 120:4L amplifiers is Rational Power Management™
(RPM), a proprietary Lab.gruppen technology that allows system designers and
integrators the freedom to allocate the output power available on each channel for
optimum performance with specific load conditions. RPMTM reduces costly excess
capacity by allowing re-allocation of output power capacity among the four channels
– with up to two channels on the D 120:4L capable of delivering up to 5,000 W
power output, leaving any remaining available power to be allocated to the other
channels for less demanding loads.
The D 120:4L can be configured and monitored using the CAFE (Configuring
Amplifiers for the Environment) software suite. In addition to providing
comprehensive system surveillance and configuration of RPM features, CAFE
includes an innovative design aid – the Equipment Specification Predictor (ESP) –
that provides tools for optimum specification of D Series units. ESP examines the
system and load requirements and then supplies recommendations for the
installation that include the exact models and quantity of D Series units, channel
distribution, heat generated and current draw. The end result is accurate mains
management and precise specification of cooling systems and UPS, when required.
Built in Lake processing provides extraordinary input flexibility, comprehensive
control and system monitoring via Lake Controller, and seamless integration into
Dante digital audio networks.
“Between repositioning the existing system to maximize coverage and then hanging
the amplifier racks behind the arrays, we were able to significantly improve the
sound quality and performance of the system,’ Blackburn concludes.
