A 72-foot dome ceiling and reflective surfaces
Poor vocal intelligibility from the old center cluster
Sound bouncing off walls instead of reaching the crowd
One room serving sports and school events alike
Even coverage across home and away bleachers and the floor
Maple Heights High School Athletic Center, Maple Heights, Ohio
A 72-foot dome — and every word lands clear.
The athletic center at Maple Heights High School in Ohio is home to the school's basketball, track, volleyball, and wrestling teams. Its 72-foot dome ceiling and wide windows made for a hard acoustic space, where sound bounced off walls and ceilings instead of reaching the crowd. NPi Audio Visual Solutions replaced the old center-cluster rig with a seven-zone Electro-Voice system, driven by Dynacord amplifiers, that finally put speech and music where the people are.
Case Study
Education
Electro-Voice
Dynacord
North America
Multi-zone
Maple Heights High School Athletic Center, Maple Heights, Ohio
A 72-foot dome — and every word lands clear.
Case Study
Education
Electro-Voice
Dynacord
North America
Multi-zone
The athletic center at Maple Heights High School in Ohio is home to the school's basketball, track, volleyball, and wrestling teams. Its 72-foot dome ceiling and wide windows made for a hard acoustic space, where sound bounced off walls and ceilings instead of reaching the crowd. NPi Audio Visual Solutions replaced the old center-cluster rig with a seven-zone Electro-Voice system, driven by Dynacord amplifiers, that finally put speech and music where the people are.
- Venue
- Maple Heights High School Athletic Center
- Location
- Maple Heights, Ohio, United States
- Install partner
- NPi Audio Visual Solutions
- Product highlights
- Electro-Voice EVH, EVF · Dynacord IPX10
The venue
A domed gym that fought every word
The Maple Heights High School Athletic Center, in Maple Heights, Ohio, is a large brick building that houses the school's basketball, track, volleyball, and wrestling programs. Its 72-foot dome ceiling and multiple windows give the room scale, but they also make it acoustically complex.
The original center-cluster system could not control how sound moved through that space. Speech reflected off the walls and the dome rather than reaching the bleachers, and vocal intelligibility suffered across the room.
“We had a working relationship with the school from when they hosted the state wrestling tournament.”
Sam AvelloneDirector of Sales, NPi Audio Visual Solutions
The challenge
Tame a reflective dome and serve very different events
A single center cluster could not direct sound in a room shaped like this one. With a 72-foot dome and hard surfaces, energy scattered before it reached the audience, leaving announcements and music muddy.
The center also had to carry events with very different audio needs — competitive sports one night, school gatherings the next — so the new system had to cover the room evenly and adapt to whatever was on the schedule.
The solution
Seven zones, aimed where the people are
NPi Audio Visual Solutions ran an EASE plot and designed the room as seven independent zones — six covering the home and away bleachers, one covering the main floor. Eight Electro-Voice EVH-1152D/96 loudspeakers, six EVH-1122D/126, and six EVH-1552D/99 deliver speech and music to each seating area, while four EVF-2151D dual 15-inch subwoofers add low-end weight.
Three Dynacord IPX10:8 multi-channel amplifiers and one IPX10:4 power and process the system. A portable operator's rack lets an announcer run the microphone, wireless mics, and music straight from the scorer's table, so staff control the whole room from one place.
- Electro-Voice EVH-1152D/96, EVH-1122D/126, and EVH-1552D/99 loudspeakers — seven zones
- Electro-Voice EVF-2151D dual 15-inch subwoofers — low-frequency reinforcement
- Dynacord IPX10:8 and IPX10:4 multi-channel amplifiers — power and processing
- EASE-modeled zoned design — six bleacher zones plus the main floor
- Portable operator's rack — announcer control from the scorer's table
“We did an EASE plot and determined that a zoned system with independent control would provide them with the flexibility the center required.”
Sam AvelloneDirector of Sales, NPi Audio Visual Solutions
The result
Clear speech and clean music, in every zone
The zoned design directs sound to each seating area instead of letting it scatter through the dome, lifting both vocal intelligibility and musical clarity across the center. The independent zones give staff the flexibility to match coverage to whatever event is in the room.
The portable rack keeps operation simple, with microphone, wireless mics, and music controlled from the scorer's table. The school no longer fights the daily issues the old system created, and the result has impressed staff and visitors alike.
Clear speech and music in every zone
Coverage aimed at the seats instead of the dome
Independent zones tuned to each kind of event
Simple announcer control from the scorer's table
The daily problems of the old system gone
Ready to upgrade your venue?
For integrators & consultants
Start with a system design
Send your floor plan or project brief and get a tailored system recommendation, including key components, coverage guidance.
For integrators & consultants
Start with a system design
Send your floor plan or project brief and get a tailored system recommendation, including key components, coverage guidance.
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