ROCHESTER, NEW YORK – MARCH 2013:
The principal at John Marshall High School in Rochester, New York had a simple request. He just wanted to be able to speak over the commotion of excited students that always seemed to overwhelm the school’s cafeteria at lunchtime. A sound reinforcement system with a simple microphone was the solution. But since a sound reinforcement system would also be capable of playing music – and perhaps because music might soothe the raw spirit of rambunctious youth – he also wanted the ability to play music over the system. Rochester’s AAA Sound stepped in to install a cost-effective, high-performance system centered on an Ashly Pema 4125 integrated processor/amplifier combo and an Ashly RD-8C remote fader user interface.
“The principle told our technician that the kids were simply too loud at lunchtime,” said Rich Petty, AAA Sound president. “It was a really straightforward request for a really straightforward sound reinforcement system. The ability to play music at lunchtime was a bonus.”
Inputs to the system include a pair of Mipro handheld wireless microphones, a wired microphone, a tuner, and a Tascam combination CD player and iPod dock. The inputs feed the Ashly Pema 4125, which has eight DSP inputs and outputs with full processing and matrixing capabilities, as well as four integrated amplifier channels rated at 125W each. Each amplifier channel drives a single Community MVP-12 loudspeaker, and the four loudspeakers are distributed around the room. An Ashly RD-8C provides nine software-assignable faders, one of which is separated in the style of a master fader. The system at John Marshall High School uses the simplest possible configuration: each of the eight faders controls an input volume and the master fader controls the output volume.
“The Ashly Pema is a cost-effective solution for a situation like this,” said Petty. “The pricing is very favorable and very competitive. Our company specs jobs with a number of different processors, and the feedback that I get from my techs is that Ashly processing is the easiest to work with. It doesn’t take a lot of training to become familiar with the operation… literally five minutes in the shop with a tech that’s not familiar with Ashly is all it takes for him to feel comfortable enough to go out and install it. Every now and then they run up against something that takes a minute; they either figure it out or a quick call to Ashly’s service department clears up the matter.”
“For a school cafeteria,” proclaimed Petty, “John Marshall High School has a really nice sound system.”
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 37-year old company is headquartered in Webster, New York U.S.A.
