Chisholm Catholic College
Overview
After facing significant challenges with their multi-purpose hall’s audio, quality, coverage and intelligibility, Chisholm Catholic College reached out to Ampd for help.
As their existing equipment was end-of-life and could no longer be supported, we were able to deliver much needed upgrades that included an expansion of the core systems, remote operating positions, outputs for video relays, and a stage confidence monitor display all provided as a turn-key solution.
Background
Chisholm Catholic College is a school that emphasises the importance of Catholic education, academic excellence, pastoral care, and opportunities for students to shine. They believe in setting grand expectations for self-discipline and self-motivation while also working in partnership with families to provide students with the necessary tools to be successful in their future endeavours.
Ultimately, Chisholm Catholic College aims to send young people of integrity into the wider world with self-confidence, a sense of justice, care for the earth, critical thinking skills, and love for their fellow human beings.
The Challenge
Chisholm Catholic College faced considerable challenges with audio quality in their multi-purpose hall. The unique shape of the building’s steep and corrugated roof, with a height of 15m at the peak, caused an intense echo that contributed to the poor audio quality and lack of intelligibility within the space.
In addition to the roof, the space itself is a large and open area comprised of hard, reflective surfaces that made it difficult to deliver quality audio with even coverage.
Likewise, the space required specific tuning for optimal audio delivery. While the main section of the hall is a vast open space, other sections connected to the main hall were smaller with lower roofs that required separate and specific audio tuning to maintain consistent audio quality.
Furthermore, being a multi-purpose space, the equipment needed to be well secured and minimal to prevent damage. This also meant the space would be used by a wide variety of people. Therefore, the system needed to be intuitive and user-friendly to ensure even the least tech-savvy users could easily operate the equipment within the space.
An additional challenge faced during the project was the ability to seamlessly integrate isolated systems. Chisholm wanted to use their existing equipment with newer and up-to-date equipment, which required a system that would allow both new and old technology to communicate with each other without sacrificing quality, features, or optimisation.
Our Solution
Our goal for Chisholm Catholic College was to deliver a consistent, intelligible, high-quality audio experience for everyone in their multi-purpose space. Additionally, we wanted to deliver a system that was simple to use and allowed for seamless integration between both new and existing equipment.
– 2x JBL CBT-1000
– 4x JBL JRX112M (Existing)
– 2x Crown CDI6000 (Existing)
– 1x QSC Core 110f
– 1x QSC CX-Q4k4
– 1x QSC TSC-1101-G3
– 1x AV Gear TMX88PRO
– Multiple AV Gear Transmitters & Receivers
– 1x D-Link DGS-1210-28MP
– 1x Philips 43″ 4k 400NIT
Audio quality and coverage
Our team embarked on a creative solution that embraced the building's unique physical features and shape while elevating the sound quality to new heights.
Ampd Electronics carried out EASE (Enhanced Acoustic Simulator for Engineers) modelling of the space using different speaker manufacturer options. This process allowed us to determine the optimum speaker selection, placement, and coverage while predicting performance to give Chisholm Catholic College the best assurance for their decision-making process.
To address the specific echo and inaudibility issues in the main hall, our team repurposed the existing JBL JRX112M speakers. We relocated all four speakers to the rear hall section and fitted two Column Array’s in their original place. The choice of 2 x JBL CBT-1000 for the Column Arrays were influenced by their adjustable Coverage Line Array Column with Asymmetrical Vertical Coverage and Tapered Horizontal Coverage. The asymmetrical vertical coverage propels more sound towards the far end of the hall, creating a more consistent front-to-back sound level.
Furthermore, the Tapered Horizontal waveguide allows for continuously varying horizontal dispersion. This feature is excellent for providing very wide coverage for short-throw and narrower coverage for long-throw. It ensures superior coverage in both the front and rear corners of the room.
These changes significantly optimised performance and sound quality. The four JBL speakers were finely tuned with a delay setting, while the Line Arrays were precisely adjusted to the room's acoustics.
This carefully crafted speaker array design improved the intelligibility of speech while reducing current echoes and reverberations through more even sound distribution, as opposed to sheer volume.
Through meticulous sound distribution, our solution achieved a more balanced and immersive audio experience.
Secure storage and installation
Ingeniously tucked away behind the stage, a sleek and secure small lockable wall-mounted enclosure was installed. This cleverly designed space became the sanctuary for all the essential equipment that needed to be within arm's reach during performances. From wireless microphones to wireless content sharing devices, everything found its perfect home in this discreet yet accessible hub.
Likewise, nestled inside a dedicated cupboard, the main AV rack was housed with its own lockable door, ensuring both security and peace of mind. This strategic placement offered a seamless integration of technology without compromising the overall aesthetics of the space.
Delivering control and compatability
A custom relay box was engineered to control the two existing projector screens. This clever creation acted as a bridge between the older equipment and the new to ensure seamless compatibility.
The QSC CX-Q4k4 network amplifier was selected for its ease of use facilitated by its native network transport capabilities with 4 channels of mic/line inputs. This not only enhances the system’s current utility, but also ensures its readiness for future expansions thereby future proofing the system.
A sleek touch panel was strategically installed between the enclosure and the wall to protect the screen from damage within the multi-purpose space. This panel brought together all the elements in perfect unison providing complete control over the system. Deliberately designed with a user-centric approach, a sophisticated and intuitive control interface (UCI) was crafted, simplifying the operation of the entire system, and eliminating any potential confusion.
Every aspect of the project was diligently addressed, from comprehensive project management and meticulous design and documentation to precise programming, seamless installation, and rigorous commissioning and testing. This turnkey solution ensured a seamless and hassle-free experience for Chisholm Catholic College.
Likewise, to empower users, basic system function training was provided as part of the commissioning and handover, equipping them with the confidence to wield their new system effectively.
The Results
The transformative AV upgrades to Chisholm Catholic College has completely revitalized their multi-purpose space. Through considered and deliberate upgrades, the coverage, consistency and intelligibility of speech and music within the space has been completely transformed.
Our bespoke audio-visual solution was meticulously designed with user-friendliness in mind. An intuitive interface and streamlined controls made the system accessible and effortless to operate.
The project encompassed meticulous architectural considerations to harmoniously integrate both legacy and innovative equipment. The ultimate objective was to achieve impeccable sound quality and unparalleled user-friendliness. Chisholm Catholic College now boasts a truly exceptional audio-visual solution.