Fanshawe College’s Music Industry Arts (MIA) program in London, Ontario, Canada has installed a Tannoy VNET system in a 32×32-foot classroom. Beyond dedicated music production suites and recording facilities, Fanshawe’s two-year program also requires mixed-use rooms with reliable and consistent sounding gear for functions ranging from reference and teaching music production through to adjudicating projects for the annual MIA awards ceremonies.
For Sy Potma, the program’s technologist and vice chair of the Toronto section of the AES, Tannoy’s VNET system fits the program’s needs. “I wanted good directionality—a powerful unit that fits ergonomically in the room,” Potma says. “The VNET system is such a convenient package and had all the elements that I needed that it just made perfect sense.” Potma chose the system based on its use at a meeting of the Toronto chapter of the AES for a day-long presentation with George Massenburg. “This is just the right size cabinetry, and the Dual Concentric design means I can orient them vertically or horizontally with no penalty.”
The program’s studio areas and teaching rooms are tied together by an Apple X-serve, which is exclusive to the MIA program, and Potma wanted to add functionality without adding gear. The college’s powered system setup comprises two 12-inch VNET12 units and a 15-inch VNET15 subwoofer. Beyond a single DAW—a Mac G5 running Pro Tools LE—no additional amplifiers or equalizers are necessary.
Tannoy’s trademark Dual Concentric design and VNET’s onboard processing also enable Potma to contour the EQ specifically for the room, and Tannoy’s dedicated mounting system also allowed him to bring the system close to the ceiling. “Out of sight and out of mind,” he says. “I can access it with my laptop, and once I set the EQ for the system and the gain matching between the subwoofer and the main system, it’s never going to change. We have plans to expand the system to 5.1 in the next year, so the VNET15 will allow me to build a more powerful system while utilizing all the hardware I’ve bought to-date.”
For more information, visit www.tannoy.com and www.fanshawec.on.ca.
