SPARKS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 2014: Formerly called The Silver Club, Bourbon Square Casino recently reopened in the Reno-Sparks area of Nevada. In addition to a fresh New Orleans theme, Bourbon Square now sports a new eight-zone sound reinforcement system centered on an Ashly ne8800 processor and four two-channel ne800 70-volt amplifiers. Critically, the system also features iPad wireless remote control via the free Ashly Remote App, which allows the Bourbon Square staff – who are experts on gaming but not necessarily pro audio – to control the system intuitively.
“There was a four year span between the closing of The Silver Club and its rebirth as Bourbon Square,” explained Mike Pristow, general manager at Vision Control Associates, the firm that designed and installed the casino’s new sound system. “They were able to blow the cobwebs off the old sound system and power it up, but it sounded horrible. It was an old design with old equipment, and a lot of the loudspeakers were blown. We suggested a new multi-zone system using Ashly processing and amplifiers together with SoundTube loudspeakers. In addition to standard audio playback, they wanted to allow pages and prerecorded message delivery from their phone system with appropriate ducking.”
Five of the zones are strategically located throughout the game floor, one covers the restaurant, and the two remaining zones cover the phones and the message unit using the DSP’s ducking feature in the event of an overhead page or automated advertising through their message repeater. Inputs to the system include two DMX boxes, two DirecTV signals, a digital signage unit, video projector output, and two microphones for special events or announcements. A single eight-by-eight Ashly ne8800 Protea™ DSP Network System Processor handles all routing logic, input equalization, and loudspeaker processing. Its output feeds four dual-channel Ashly ne800 70V Network Amplifiers, which power a collection of eight-inch SoundTube CM82-EZs-II loudspeakers and three-inch SoundTube SM31-EZ loudspeakers.
“The staff have a lot more to think about than complicated sound system controls,” said Pristow. “We used Ashly’s free iPad App to give them custom control of input sources and volumes, as well as a collection of appropriate presets. It was my first time programming Ashly’s iPad app, and it went smoothly.”
“Like a lot of installations, providing a cost-effective, high-performance system with intuitive user control was paramount,” said Randy Premetz, vice president of design and engineering with Vision Control Associates. “Ashly makes competitively-priced equipment that is flexible, powerful, and reliable – exactly the sort of thing that is needed for a job like Bourbon Square. And the company’s phenomenal support guarantees a smooth installation as they always deal with our problems and questions at a time scale measured in minutes. It’s been my experience that Ashly treats all integrators with respect, no matter the size – it’s in their DNA.”
ABOUT ASHLY AUDIO Ashly Audio Inc. is recognized as a world leader in the design and manufacturing of high quality & high performance signal processing equipment and power amplification for use in the commercial sound contracting and professional audio markets. The 40-year old company is headquartered in Webster, New York U.S.A.
