USC School of Dance installs scalable Renkus-Heinz system

A scalable system based on Renkus-Heinz loudspeakers was recently installed in the University of Southern California’s Glorya Kaufman International School of Dance.

Pfeiffer Partners hired electro-acoustic consultant Rick Wells of Multi-Media Consulting to design the system, while audio reseller ProSound was tasked with the install.

Housed in a new, 70-foot-tall, 54,000-square-foot building, the school features a large performance studio, four medium dance studios, and one upper division studio.

"I designed several scalable systems to accommodate the different rooms’ variations and functional requirements," explained Wells. "I wanted all of the studios to function and sound similar, so that instructors and students can easily move from studio to studio.”

The 60 x 40-foot medium dance studios are designed with Renkus-Heinz RH123 three-way point-source reinforcement systems and a PN112 subwoofer: "The RH123 is one of my favourite loudspeakers," Wells revealed. "They are compact, sound natural, and are available with multiple horn patterns. This lets me use the same loudspeaker in multiple rooms with different sizes and shapes.”

Wells designed a separate autonomous speech-reinforcement system to assist the instructors when teaching for hours in loud environments, including a wireless microphone and a simple mixer. The Renkus-Heinz TRX62H two-way complex conic loudspeaker system features dual 6.5-inch, heavy-duty, low-frequency drivers and a 1-inch, extended-range, titanium HF driver that offers 150° by 60° coverage.

The large performance studio – which doubles as a theatre and practice space – also presented a unique set of requirements, as Wells detailed: “I designed an LCR main system for the audience with three Renkus-Heinz RH153 three-way complex conic loudspeakers, configured with a 15-inch woofer and the same CDT-3 mid-high device that is in the RH123. We route speech through the centre channel and program audio through the left and right loudspeakers. We used a Renkus-Heinz DR18-2R direct-radiating subwoofer, configured with dual 18-inch drivers crossed over at 80 Hz, to reinforce the extreme low end of the audio spectrum."

Wells specified a pair of Renkus-Heinz RH123s as rear surrounds for theatrical effects, while two more RH123s are located behind the flexible proscenium, aimed at the dancers as monitors. All audio systems throughout the building are networked over Dante and can operate as one system, using a pair of QSC Q-SYS DSPs.

"The building is still brand new," Wells concluded. "But so far, the school’s staff is extremely happy with their Renkus-Heinz systems."

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