Category: LEA Professional

To host meetings of such importance, having reliable audio is key. When the Pro Football Hall of Fame was ready to upgrade its old audio system, they enlisted Josh Winn, founder of J. Winn Sound, to install technology compatible with the room’s ever-changing needs. “The room can be configured in multiple ways as a board room, conference room, lecture hall, etc. It features a touchscreen interface programmed to match the specific meeting’s layout, enabling automated camera and sound system adjustments that track the speaker’s location. This creates the illusion of a professionally engineered video production, though it’s entirely automated,” Winn explained.

Winn and his team specified LEA Professional’s CONNECTSERIES 702 and 354 for this project. “We were looking for intuitive technology whose reliability would give our team peace of mind that it would run efficiently with minimal troubleshooting required,” Winn added. “LEA Professional’s products were affordable but did not compromise on clarity, horsepower and DSP capabilities. Additionally, we were able to receive the products quickly, which at the time was a major issue for many manufacturers. All of these aspects made the CONNECTSERIES ideal for this project.“

The CONNECTSERIES 354 Series was installed to handle several banks of ceiling loudspeakers. The series’ smart capabilities can delay the audio or adjust the volume as needed per channel. The CONNECTSERIES 702 series powers the audio speaker system at the front of the room, making the sound more impactful while conducting video presentations.

The 704 and 354 Network CONNECTSERIES smart amplifiers feature 700 and 350 watts per channel, respectively, and are well-suited for installations such as the Golden Jacket Lounge that require a lot of system flexibility. The two, four and eight-channel amps support HiZ (70V or 100V) or LoZ loudspeakers, selectable by channel. With three ways to connect, the installer can engage the built-in Wi-Fi access point, connect to the room’s Wi-Fi, or connect to any local area network via Cat5 or Cat6 cable. LEA Professional’s Network CONNECTSERIES is also the first amplifier family in the industry to offer cloud connectivity, offering an additional layer of reliability through remote troubleshooting and support.

When the AV Engineering team at the College of LSA realized that flexibility was key when deciding which route to go with their audio system they looked back to a familiar project where the University had used industry-leading, high-quality, cloud- and IoT-based pro-audio amplifiers from LEA Professional. After seeing the performance and dynamism of the amplifiers in the relatively new School of Kinesiology Building they knew LEA would be a good fit.

Jeremy Gerick and Christopher Elly, Senior AV Project Engineers on the project, installed 20 LEA Professional Dante Connect Series amplifiers for maximum coverage, a mixture of 354D, 704D, 84D, and 702D. Designing an audio system based on Dante-connected devices offers many benefits, including nearly limitless system flexibility and scalability, allowing a small AV team to operate as a much larger one, as well as the ability to decentralize system processing, set various zones and presets, and easily reconfigure the system as necessary.

“This project was quite expansive so we chose to install only Dante enabled components, including the Dante version of the Connect Series,” said Gerick. “This gave us the utmost flexibility, ensuring all elements of the system could ‘talk’ to each other, avoiding any connectivity issues.”

When it came to the installation of the amplifiers, the LEA Professional Web UI proved extremely useful to the team both as a time saver and a cost saver. The Web UI is LEA Professional’s browser-based interface which allows local monitoring of every amplifier connected to the network from any phone, tablet, or PC. In addition, it allows users to view the status of every channel on any given amp. This allowed Gerick to constantly monitor the system during install so if there was an issue it could be immediately flagged and dealt with.

With safety protocols being front of mind, the build-out of any large audio system at the university needs to incorporate a fire alarm cut-off system. This ensures that when the fire alarm is sounded, the amps power down so announcements can be heard. In this case, a fire inspector needed to evaluate that function on the amps before the rest of the system was installed. To do this the team utilized the Web UI, getting the amplifier toning and then connecting it to the relay control power supply to showcase the fire alarm cut-off capability. This function saved the fire inspector an additional trip to the university after the system was built and saved the team significant time during the installation process.

Outside of the Web UI, the amplifiers, which are used to drive the PA system, as well as the main speakers for lecture content etc., had many features that Gerick and team were very impressed with.

“The amps themselves have a good user interface, the ability to switch between 70 volt and LowZ is extremely valuable to us, as well as the ability to do impedance measurements on the speaker loads,” explained Gerick.

Showground staff contacted leading Australian integrator The P.A. People to help overhaul the system. Ross Ford, Project Manager at The P.A. People, was tasked with leading the installation. “From an operational point of view, LEA amplifiers offered us several key features that made them easy to integrate. The ability to bridge channels, ingest Dante inputs, and utilize analog inputs for the fire trip lines, plus they’re a lot smaller and more compact than many competitive offerings.”

Every pavilion has a standalone public address system, with a site-wide system in place for emergency communications. A major element of the AV upgrades was the desire for complete system monitoring and supervision. Because the AV in some of the smaller venues is used infrequently, unbeknownst to the staff, when required the AV systems often performed sub-optimally, an issue only identified immediately prior to an event during testing. LEA’s line-monitoring capabilities were a significant factor in their selection. Now, AV staff receive an email notifying them of device issues or signal path disruptions in real-time, allowing staff to make fixes in many cases before anyone notices a problem.

A mixture of nine LEA Connect Series 354D amplifiers and nine LEA Connect Series 704D amplifiers were deployed in the smaller venues. The CS354D is a Dante-enabled 4-channel amplifier with 350 watts per channel, while the CS704D is a Dante-enabled 4-channel amplifier with 700 watts per channel. Both are perfectly suited for small to medium-scale installations and support high-Z (70V or 100V) and low-Z selectable by channel, giving the Showground excess capabilities for additional loudspeakers in the future.

For the Dome and Exhibition Complex, The P.A. People installed 13 LEA Connect Series 1504D. The CS1504D is LEA Professional’s flagship high-power IoT-enabled amplifier. A 2RU 4-channel amplifier offering 1500 watts per channel, it’s ideal for large concert venues, arenas and stadiums. The CS1504D is Dante-enabled and supports high-Z (70V or 100V) and low-Z selectable by channel, providing capabilities for possible expansion.

 A significant challenge for the installation team was that many venues were in constant use, so finding time to perform the upgrades and swap out the gear had to be very carefully planned. Thankfully, LEA’s Sharkware software made device configuration simple, saving the team significant commissioning time.

“Because of the quality of LEA’s amplifiers and the ease of being able to implement them in the infrastructure, we were able to swap out 15 amplifiers in a few days,” says Ford. “That time included tuning and setting up all the system parameters and making them operational.”

The Maker’s Mark staff wanted to ensure their facilities reflect the world-class quality of the bourbon they produce. When retrofitting an employee break room next to the bottling lines, they contacted Alex Peake, Project Manager for JCA Media, to help equip the room’s AV system. “Their goal was to have background music playing all the time, except during meetings and presentations,” said Peake. “They wanted to be able to walk in, plug in their laptop, hit the presentation preset on the touchscreen, and go. Then hit a different preset at the end of the meeting to reset the room. And that’s exactly what we did.” The background music system switches itself on before the day shift begins and shuts off late in the evening. Eight Martin ceiling loudspeakers were installed in the 30-foot by 60-foot break room, all driven by an LEA Connect Series 704. The 704 is a 4-channel amplifier with 700 watts per channel, perfectly suited for small to medium-scale installations. 

With the success of the break room deployment, the distillery staff immediately pivoted to how they could improve the AV for both of the industrial bottling lines directly outside the break room. They wanted to break up the monotony of the repetitive machine sounds and make it more enjoyable for the employees who staff the area. They took advantage of the spare power that the 704 amplifier provided, powering each bottling line and the break room on separate channels, all of which is controlled by an Allen & Heath AHM-32 audio matrix processor.

The positive effect of the improved audio was contagious, resulting in the distillery staff asking JCA Media again to update an AV system, this time in the “innovation lab.” The innovation lab is a separate log cabin-esque building with red shutters the same color as the iconic red wax on their bottles. More than just a secretive area where the next generation of Maker’s Mark products are ideated and refined, the building also includes a VIP tasting area, patio, conference room and more. 

The original design called for a 4-channel LEA amplifier paired with another AHM-32. One amplifier channel would drive the tasting room while another fed the patio. The final two channels were used for the conference room: one for the ceiling loudspeakers and the other powered a subwoofer. Peake added, “We were installing that and getting all up and running and they loved it so much, they said, “Okay, add audio to both the offices, the bathroom, and the kitchen. We just want background music everywhere.”

To maintain this high standard, KFC wanted the same audio content and ambience across all of its locations and wanted the ability to control it from one place. In a country of 126 million people covering 760,000 miles, the logistics behind a project of this magnitude are daunting. Agüero and his team first needed to assess the current state of the audio systems across the various locations, and then develop a scalable solution to accommodate KFC’s plans for growth.

Signo started the process by partnering with Intéligos, a leading audio, video, and security sales company headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico. With such a large country to cover and the looming requirement for single‐source monitoring and control, Intelligos introduced Agüero and the Signo team to LEA Professional. “LEA’s products are high quality, and its technology is simple to understand and gives KFC the ability to control, monitor, and troubleshoot all locations from a single place through the Cloud. These were all key selling points for me. Intéligos handles the product, the logistics, shipping, and warehousing, and has helped ensure everything runs smoothly,” adds Agüero.

Agüero’s Signo team started with 70 stores in Phase One of the project. “We felt we had a great opportunity to make things better.” When Signo started the process 18 months ago, all of the stores played different music, at different sound levels, and in some cases, not at all. “We told the store managers to focus on their attention on serving customers. We are the experts in sound and music, and you are the experts in chicken. Together, we make a good alliance,” quips Agüero.

Intéligos recommended the LEA Connect Series 354 amplifier for each location. The LEA Connect Series 354 is a 4‐channel amplifier with 350 watts per channel, providing each KFC location with enough power to support audio content delivery. The amplifier is easy to install either through the built‐in Wi‐Fi access point, connecting with the location’s Wi‐Fi, or with an ethernet connection. “We hesitated sending a lot of product into each store,” says Agüero. “We wanted to keep it simple by assigning a standard package of one LEA CS354 amplifier and a set of Sonos speakers for each location – easy to inventory, ship, and keep track of.”

The biggest advantage for Signo now is the ability to remotely troubleshoot and fix any issue with any store from the Mexico City office. “We can also easily modify music content across locations as well as schedule amplifier on/off times to coincide with store operating hours, which can help save energy and extend the life of the products,” delights Agüero.

When Muldraugh was seeking to upgrade their systems they reached out to a company by the name of JCA  Audio which is a premier media partner in the Bluegrass state as well as many surrounding. The company has really cornered the market on House of Worship due to its exceptional capabilities and its overall support for its customers.

“We get tired of churched being sold things they don’t need,” said Alex Peake, Project Manager for JCA Media. “we give churches what they need – quality equipment and a well-done installation. I have seen many installs where churches are sold things that are way above what was really needed for the job. Not that I don’t love quality gear, but you can go overboard with it if you’re not doing the right thing”

“We are firm believers in doing it the right way with the right gear the first time, and we won’t install low-cost, low-quality products. Our names are on it, we take pride in our work, we love what we do, and we want it to be a lasting investment for churches as well,” added Peake.

At Muldraugh Hill Baptist, the church was hampered by an aging audiovisual system in its main sanctuary. The main projector was propped up by hymnals, affectionately called ‘shymals’ projecting on the wall from a laptop down in front of the pew. The church had a center loudspeaker cluster that did not cover the space adequately, and a choir monitor was hung from 25 feet from the choir so reverberation from the walls was a challenge.

In order words, it was a challenge that JCA was well qualified to handle. “We try to go into every install with the end goal in mind,” addeded Peake. “We don’t want to lock you into a system that doesn’t allow room for growth, but at the same time, we want to give you a long-lasting system that will do the job well, fit your needs, and grow with you.”

The audio portion of the installation utilized a Danley SM100B loudspeaker, two SH Mini’s, two Cubes, and four Nanos, all powered by LEA Professional 704 and 354 Network Connect Series Smart Amplifiers. An Allen & Heath SQ-5 digital mixer runs all audio, connected to  Earthworks choir, pulpit, and piano mics fed into ACE Backstage stage pockets and six Audio-Technica wireless mics.

“We were able to take a 4-channel LEA 704 and smart power bridge the first channel for the main Danley SM100B loudspeaker. Then we connected a channel per front fill, with a danley cube on each side,” said Peake. JCA’s team then used the fourth channel for the choir monitors and the 4-channel LEA 354 powered the four stage monitors. “Both LEA amplifiers are connected to their network via a Luxul switch so that we can utilize the LEA cloud monitoring feature,” Added Peake.

“I love the Smart Power Bridge function. I can create a left-center-right (LCR) configuration with a subwoofer on a single four- channel amp because I can smart power bridge the sub on a single channel and then do LCR. That really helps a lot of our layouts,” commented Peake.