The new Louisiana State University (LSU) gymnastics training facility in Baton Rouge is among the world’s leading facilities of its kind, incorporating the latest training technologies and infrastructure with the newest in sound reinforcement and playback technologies.
Although much of its 38,000 sq ft are devoted to office space and support for the gymnastics programme, nearly half is reserved for a comprehensive gym area that is effectively divided into four separate audio spaces. LSU’s non-technical staff and athletes can easily operate the system from Crestron control panels driven by Ashly Audio Protea DSP, with power provided by high-fidelity, workhorse Ashly Audio KLR-series amplifiers.
Baton Rouge A/V integration firm Sound-Advice USA designed and installed the sound reinforcement system at LSU’s gymnastics training facility. “The gymnastics programme at LSU wanted a system that could accommodate many inputs across many zones, which required Ashly’s customisable control and its ability to work well with the Crestron interfaces that they wanted,” explained Richard Hale, founder and president of Sound-Advice USA.
An Ashly ne24.24M Protea Digital Matrix Processor sits at the heart of the main gymnasium system and interfaces with a Crestron control system to allow non-technical staff and athletes to operate the system. “Ashly’s customisable DSP and user-interface controls have always worked well with the Crestron systems we like to install in larger facilities,” Richard said. “At LSU, the Crestron control panels provide input selection and virtual volume faders that are easy for the folks who control it to understand and manipulate. It simplifies operation so the training and learning curve for the coaches and athletes is minimised. Based on our past success, it’s a recipe we don’t want to mess with.”
In addition, Richard installed two Ashly KLR-5000 dual-channel, 2,500 W per channel amplifiers to power a Danley Sound Labs subwoofer and seven Ashly KLR-3200 dual-channel amplifiers to power the room’s Danley loudspeakers, as well as in-ceiling loudspeakers in the lobby, lounge, and conference room. The versatile Ashly KLR-3200 is rated at 1600W into 2 Ohms or 800W @ 70V, so one power amplifier can power a Low-Z zone plus a separate zone of 70V in-ceiling speakers. Richard was also able to call on the Ashly ne24.24M’s surplus processing power to handle DSP in the athlete’s lounge and in the conference room.
