Home to the Washburn University Ichabods’ basketball teams and women's volleyball team, Lee Arena is a 4,150-seat indoor sports venue that draws some of the largest crowds in NCAA Division II. Along with basketball and volleyball games, Lee Arena hosts graduations and other non-sporting events using a stage in the arena’s center or at end court. This functional versatility along with the university’s desire for both clear voice announcements and high musical sound quality, provided challenges for the audio system design. The Sound System To meet these challenges, integrator Monty Ehrlich of Sound Products, Inc. in Topeka, Kansas designed a distributed system using Community’s I SERIES loudspeakers. The system is divided into several zones covering the bleachers and floor areas. Each zone has its own level adjustment, delay and equalization to maintain consistent coverage and sound quality throughout the arena. For non-sporting events, presets in the Ashly DSP adjust delay, level and EQ in each zone for different stage locations and event types. The I SERIES loudspeakers are powered by Ashly and Crown amplifiers. The new sound system helps create an exciting experience for Ichabods sports fans by providing high-quality, full-range audio with ample level to overcome crowd noise and excellent voice clarity for play-by -play announcements. For non-sporting events, the system provides even coverage for different audience configurations along with excellent voice intelligibility. Sound Products, Inc. also provided audio coverage in the overflow “Ichabod Room” using Community D5 ceiling loudspeakers. The system provides excellent gain before feedback and meets the university’s goals for clear voice announcements and high musical sound quality.
