Showcasing the versatility of JBL Professional loudspeakers for multi-use and mixed-media environments, Victory Plaza, a commercial development located adjacent to the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, installed a JBL loudspeaker system to support its wide variety of uses. This unique retail and entertainment venue not only hosts pre-game and post-game activities held at the Center, such as Dallas Mavericks basketball and Dallas Stars ice hockey games, but is also an attraction itself, drawing shoppers and diners daily throughout the year.
Victory Plaza also serves as an entertainment venue, with four large, high-resolution LED screens on each side of the Plaza, which move along horizontal tracks creating a variety of configurations and motion video. The screens are also occasionally combined into sets of four to create 31 x 53-foot HD screens. Recognizing the key role in which audio/video atmospherics play in creating a shopper-friendly retail environment, systems integration firm The Whitlock Group installed a visually discreet yet acoustically pristine audio system, designed by Vantage Consulting of Los Angeles. Ten zones of audio comprise the system, with each zone containing one JBL AM6212/95-WRX loudspeaker, one AM6212/64-WRX loudspeaker and one ASB6128-WRX subwoofer. The JBL loudspeakers are flush mounted to the buildings behind a curtain wall that creates a backdrop for the LED screens.
While the large amount of glass and concrete—not to mention the curtain wall in front of loudspeakers—would seem to pose some large acoustical challenges, Steve Whittle of The Whitlock Group found the system sounded great from the start. “Because the loudspeakers are flush against the building, the building actually acts as a baffle for the whole system,� he said. “There’s so much glass and hard surfaces that you would expect a lot of echo, but the curtain wall actually softens the audio as the sound passes through it.�
According to Whittle, the AE Series loudspeakers, which were designed to order with weatherized coating, proved to be an ideal fit for the application. “From a fidelity and output power capability standpoint, that’s what these loudspeakers are made for,� he said. “They offer a lot of flexibility and are very easy to install.�
An additional large video screen is located on the side of the American Airlines Center at the end of the Plaza, which is used for 15-minute entertainment programs held every hour from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. To support the content displayed on the screen, seven stereo pairs of Control 30 loudspeakers are mounted to poles throughout the Plaza. Additionally, 10 JBL Control SB210 subwoofers are mounted in sealed stainless backboxes within the granite flowerpots around the Plaza. “We have the Control 30 speakers all pointing towards the center of the Plaza so people can hear the audio accompaniment to the video screen,� said Jeff McGinnis, Audio Engineer for the American Airlines Center.
Because a variety of events are held in the Plaza (often accompanying the events taking place inside the arena), McGinnis said versatility and performance of the system are of equal importance. “We have a lot of pre-game parties, after-parties and exhibitions, with lots of DJ’s and performers,� he said. “The system can either be run by itself or we can use a rolling rack that has a mixer, limiters and a CD player. We have BSS London processing that can be controlled via PC from the rolling rack, so we can actually configure the system from the Plaza area.�
JBL Professional is a unit of Harman International Industries, Incorporated (www.harman.com).
Harman International designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment products for the automotive, consumer and professional markets, and maintains a strong presence in the Americas, Europe and Asia, employing more than 11,000 people worldwide. The Harman International family of brands includes AKG®, Audioaccess®, Becker®, BSS®, Crown®, dbx®, DigiTech®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, Mark Levinson®, Revel®, QNX®, Soundcraft® and Studer®. Harman International’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “NYSE: HAR.�
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