Located in suburban Fort Worth, the Mansfield Independent School District (ISD) facilities include the Dr Jim Vaszauskas Center for the Performing Arts, a freestanding 142,000sq-ft facility used for live music and theatre events. It also functions as a professional development centre, with a conference/banquet area, breakout rooms and computer labs.
During the pandemic, the facility began experiencing end-of-life issues with some of its high-end technology, necessitating a full refurbishment. Mansfield ISD engaged CRUX Technology & Security Solutions to make an in-depth assessment of the situation, then recommend how best to bring the facility back to state-of-the-art standards, in line with the district’s needs and ambitions.
The PA solution CRUX recommended was designed around Electro-Voice X2 line-array loudspeakers in combination with Dynacord IPX series amplifiers. DSP, time delays, speaker optimisation, and system control were programmed into the amplifiers via Dynacord SoniCue Sound System Software. The physical installation was executed by another local company, Electro Acoustics.
A key element of the refit was the centre’s ability to generate revenue for the school district by hosting national touring productions. This was easily met by the EV-Dynacord solution, which provides a level of all-around performance and control that represents a marked improvement over the venue’s previous system.
‘We specified the Electro-Voice and Dynacord products very deliberately on this project,’ notes CRUX Senior AV Consultant, Mason Brooks. ‘Since legacy product end-of-life and supply chain issues were driving forces on the project, we did not have the luxury of allowing alternates. These brands represent Grade A technology, and the X2 delivers a significant audio upgrade with a smaller footprint, and with less impact on sightlines. Bosch [EV and Dynacord’s parent company] was also one of the few manufacturers that could actually deliver the product in our required time frame.’
The the CRUX design constitutes the largest permanent installation of EV X-Line Advance in North America, with a total of 67 full-range cabinets plus ten subwoofers, making the 5,500-seat auditorium’s PA system capable of hosting major touring concert events. In addition, both the left and right sides of the semicircular room can be walled off to create smaller dedicated spaces, each with its own sound system and seating for 640.
The main auditorium PA comprises twin 13-box X2-212 arrays, each with 11 X2-212 90° boxes above two 120° models to provide coverage across the front. The low end is supplied by a centre hang of ten X12-125F dual-15-inch flying subwoofers. To ensure coverage to the rear of the auditorium, three delay arrays of seven X2-212/120 enclosures were also installed.
Audio for the two side rooms is provided by independent ten-box line arrays, using the 90° dispersion of the X2-212. These hangs were optimised using SoniCue to deliver low end without requiring additional subwoofers.
The system is powered by 16 Dynacord IPX20:4 amplifiers, providing 20kW from just two rack units’ space. These Dante-enabled smart amplifiers house significant DSP power and are part of the SoniCue ecosystem. SoniCue was used to implement key system design elements, including loudspeaker optimisation, room EQ, time delay and subwoofer directionality. Additionally, IPX amplifiers employ Eco-Rail technology to reduce power consumption by up to 50 per cent – which was a big selling point for the school district.
Another function of IPX’s energy-efficient feature set is Ghost Power – a problem-solving technology that ensures the amplifer and processing will instantaneosly recover from mains power glitches. It eliminates reboot issues that might occur during a short-term outage or a transition to a secondary power source by ensuring the amplifiers have sufficient power in reserve to maintain DSP through generator start-up. IPX achieves this without the need for an expensive uninterruptable power supply (UPS) system or non-network components.
‘The Dynacord IPX amps were important to ensure the reliability of the system,’ Brooks explains. ‘The arts centre is in a location that’s known for having occasional power outages, and the facility is used as a reunification point for Mansfield schools in case of emergency. The Dynacord amps solve that problem beautifully. The Ghost Power technology acts as a power backup until the building’s backup generators kick in. So as soon as the power returns, sound is happening without waiting for the amps to reboot. It’s a huge upgrade that addresses the critical needs of mass notification and evacuation.’
In replacing dated system infrastructure with a modern Dante network, finding an appropriate location for the new amplifiers presented a further challenge. Happily, with only 16 amplifiers required, the catwalk in the main auditorium could handle the equipment racks without additional structural support.
‘In upgrading the facility, our flexibility was limited in terms of conduit runs,’ explains at Electro Acoustics Senior Account Manager, Ryan Walker. ‘We have about 300ft of Cat cable to bring the Dante network up to the amps. From there, we had manageable runs of about 300-400ft of copper to the various speaker positions. So really, the Dynacord product design was a big part of the solution.’
Walker also notes that installation of the line arrays was straightforward. ‘We were fortunate that the auditorium had a motorised hoist system for the massive self-powered system we were replacing,’ he says. ‘The positive pin-locking system on the EV arrays made it easy to stack the speakers and build the arrays in place. EV’s hardware design is outstanding, so the reinstallation was ten times faster than most typical line array systems.’
‘While there are several companies that can provide the technology this project demanded, the Bosch ecosystem of Electro-Voice line arrays and Dynacord electronics provides a synergy of technology, sound quality and value that does a tremendous job of meeting all the customer’s needs,’ says Brooks. ‘Everyone is thrilled with the result.’
