The key to good sound in a gymnasium is to control where the audio energy goes. At Lewis Sound & Video, we call this the “cardboard box” effect. Throw too much sound too carelessly into a big wood and concrete box and you’ll get an acoustic nightmare.

Instead, we use acoustical modeling and careful zoning of speakers to put the sound only where the audience is for a particular event. “The last thing you want to do is put sound into the full court if you’re only using half of it,” says Susan Lewis, “because that sound you’re putting in the other half is simply going to bounce around.”

In an outdoor stadium, we take a similar approach. Here you don’t have to worry so much about reverb, but you do need to worry about your neighbours. You want to put the sound just where your audience is.

In the South Milwaukee field house, we installed an audio system with:

• Peavey X-Frame digital signal processing
• 19 JBL loudspeakers installed in the ceiling
• Six Crown CL2 amplifiers
• Two Audio Technica wireless mics
• A Williams assistive listening headphone system for the hearing impaired
• AM/FM, CD and cassette music sources with a high-gain radio antenna
• Xantec remote control for the source equipment.

In the football stadium, we installed:

• Three Technomad Berlin15H loudspeakers. These are premium weatherproof speakers designed to stand up to any kind of outdoor conditions.
• An Audio-Technica 3000 series wireless mic
• A Crown CL2 amplifier
• AM/FM, CD and cassette music sources.

Read more about gymnasium sound system design

Read more about the sound system in South Milwaukee High School.