Memorial Hall Sound System

United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD

Challenge:

The US Naval Academy had recently completed a 10-year renovation of the historic Bancroft hall, a venue that has the distinction of being the largest dormitory in the world with space to house the academy's entire class of 4500 midshipmen. One of the last rooms to be renovated was the history-rich Memorial Hall. Known for its plaques honoring past midshipmen and its "Don't Give up the Ship" motto, Memorial Hall has been was used for countless ceremonies and presentations. As with many historic rooms, the highly reflective space and high ceilings made Memorial Hall an acoustical challenge. The Naval Academy wanted to replace its ineffective portable sound system with a permanently installed audio system that provide intelligible coverage to the entire hall, regardless of seating arrangement. But, the main requirement, and the biggest challenge, was that the permanently installed speakers should not significantly detract from the historic architectural integrity of the room.

Solution:

Recognizing the twin objectives of greatly improved audio and maintaining architectural integrity, the selection of loudspeakers was the most crucial design decision. Fortunately, our experienced audio engineers found the perfect speakers -- the Intellivox 6C. The Intellivox 6C speakers also contain 32 individual 4" speakers with on-board DSP processing and amplifiers. The advanced Digital Directivity Control (DDC) technology of the speakers provides the delivery of intelligible speech at a level never before heard in this hall.

Although one 6C speaker could have covered the entire hall, four speakers were installed. Two were placed in front, along with two microphone jacks on either side. These are used for presentations and ceremonies for the entire hall. For small group presentations, one speaker and microphone jack were installed in both side wings of the hall. To maintain the architectural beauty of the room, the speakers were color matched to the adjacent wall.

The improved audio system and new lighting enhance the functionality of the hall since computer presentations can now be made -- a task that was impossible before the renovation. Control of the audio system is managed by a Peavey MediaMatrix digital audio processing system.