Your browser is out-of-date!

Update your browser to view this website correctly. Update my browser now

×

CASE STUDY: WheelPower Studio, Deerfield, IL

When it comes time to sweat, the sound system had better be ready to keep up with the bike — that was the goal at WheelPower Studio in Deerfield, IL, which was recently created and outfitted by Atlanta-based Indoor Cycle Design, with AV overseen by Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro).

Tracy Chudnow, “chief sweat officer” of WheelPower, worked with Barbara Chancey Hoots of Indoor Cycle Design, Ryan Nigh and Jonah Joffe, account managers at GC Pro, and Mike Love of GC Pro’s Affiliates Program partner Accutronics, in bringing the project to the finish line.

WheelPower is GC Pro’s first fitness-center installation in the Chicago area. It has a unique interior design with a main exercise room that features tiered banks of indoor cycles in a stadium-seating arrangement, complemented by a sound system that Nigh points out “can rock the house with more SPL than most nightclubs and bars,” programmable LED lighting along the ceiling perimeter, and two video screens.

“Chudnow and Hoots wanted to create an exciting, adrenaline-pumping atmosphere that had more in common with a rock concert or dance club than your typical static gym environment,” said Nigh. “The instructor can instantly tailor the music and lighting and the video screens can display the performance of the cyclists in real time.”

WheelPower’s four zones of distributed audio and lighting – main “cycle stadium” room, strength-training room, locker room and reception area – are all controlled by a unique custom instructor’s podium at the center of the cycle stadium, designed and built by systems integrator and acoustical consultant Accutronics.

The podium houses all the audio and lighting control gear and enables the instructor to operate all audio and video sources and lighting via laptop. “The podium is completely custom,” noted Nigh. “Mike Love had it custom built. It’s really a functional work of art.” In addition, wall controllers mounted throughout the facility enable adjustment of volume and source selection.

At the heart of the installation is a Rane HAL DSP platform for distributed audio, paging, and room combining. The system’s HAL 1X multiprocessor utilizes Cat5 cable to send audio and control signals over long distances.

A total of 17 QSC AD-S10T, AD-S8T, and AD-S6T surface-mount loudspeakers are mounted on ceiling brackets throughout the facility, and the speakers in the main room are angled at the tiered rows of cycles to provide smooth, even coverage for every rider. The speakers are driven by QSC PLD4.3, PLD 4.2 and GX5 power amps. A QSC KW181 18-inch, 1,000-watt subwoofer can deliver up to 135dB peak SPL of low-frequency impact to the main room and a QSC AD-S112SW sub handles the bass for the strength-training room.

“The Cat5 connectivity of the Rane components really saved time and labor and they worked exactly as specified, the QSC speakers could not have been easier to mount and GC Pro was top-notch in recommending the right products for the job and making sure we got them on time,” Love said.

Featured Articles

Close