The Gordon Center for the Performing Arts is an acoustically-stunning, 550-seat venue in Owings Mills, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore. A regional cultural clearinghouse, the Gordon Center hosts acts from local to national, dance performances, comedies, plays, lectures, family shows, and films. With the help of A/V integration firm HP Electronics, the venue recently upgraded its sound reinforcement system with Danley’s SH-96HO loudspeakers, TH-118 subwoofers, and new DNA-Series amplifiers.

‘When the Gordon Center decided it was time for an upgrade, several loudspeaker shootouts were arranged that ultimately pitted a dozen or so loudspeaker manufacturers against each other,’ explains HP Electronics A/V Sales Designer, Joe Schwartz. ‘At the outset, they wanted to avoid a line array solution because of its dominant visual aesthetic and their preference for the sound of point source boxes. The fidelity and impact of the Danley boxes really wowed them and won the day.’

Three Danley SH-96HO loudspeakers comprise an LCR system that covers all of the permanent seating, with four TH-118 subwoofers flown above and behind the centre SH-96HO provide ample low-end support, and a Danley SM-96 for front fill when the orchestra pit is used for seating.

An existing Allen & Heath dLive console feeds three new Danley DNA 20k4 Pro amplifiers, which deliver twelve channels and 60kW total in just six combined rack spaces. HP Electronics technician David Martin relied on the Danley DNA onboard DSP processing and Danley’s presets to provide ideal starting points during system tuning.

‘The client really made the call for Danley on this job, but it made our jobs easier as well,’ Schwartz reports. ‘They have exceptional pattern control, and Danley loudspeakers and subs sound awesome right out of the box, especially with the Danley amps. Very little tuning is required, and we don’t have to work very hard to get a system that sounds fantastic.’