George P. Miller Stadium, home of the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) (Indiana, Pa.) Crimson Hawks, recently received an upgrade to its sound system with Electro-Voice Sx series loudspeakers provided by Edward Simon & Co (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and installed by Doug Varner Sound Company.

 

Edward Simon & Co., commercial AV systems specialists for nearly 35 years, has performed more than 700 design/installations at stadiums, arenas, shopping malls, and TV studios, resulting in a résumé that reads like a who’s-who of some of the United States’ most recognizable venues, including Jacobs Field, Verizon Center, Mellon Arena, Nationwide Arena, Heinz Field, and Gund Arena. Though relatively small in comparison, the new EV sound system at 6,500-seat George P. Miller Stadium demonstrates that precise audio coverage and intelligibility can be scaled to installations of all shapes and sizes, given the right equipment. Ed Simon, owner of Edward Simon & Co., comments:

 

“This is one of the smaller football field installations I’ve done in my career, but we bring the same attention to detail to every project we undertake. Though we usually work with larger venues for professional organizations and colleges, the great thing about the IUP installation isn’t its size, but the way it demonstrates how to correctly mount loudspeakers to maximize performance. Of course, you need to start with excellent loudspeakers, which is where EV comes in. It really is a beautiful, exemplary installation, and IUP is very happy.”

 

In addition to being an established stadium sound provider, Simon & Co. also performs its own custom fabrications of mounting equipment at its state-of-the-art, in-house metal shop. The company custom-made the brackets used to mount their EV loudspeakers at George P. Miller Stadium, ensuring the venue met the requirements of a recent change to stadium installation codes.

 

IUP’s stadium system comprises weatherproofed EV Sx600, Sx300, and Sb122 loudspeakers powered by five CP4000S amplifiers run via two DC-One signal processors. The system also includes an NFL-standard referee microphone system from Telex.

 

“I expect the Sx600s to last at least 10 years,” says Simon, “which is an extremely long time for a full-weather-exposure, outdoor loudspeaker. We’ve had problems with other manufacturers’ loudspeakers that have been unable to meet that requirement. The fact is no one makes a truly weatherproof loudspeaker other than Electro-Voice.

 

“The sonic quality of all the Sx loudspeakers is superb,” adds Simon. “We simply wouldn’t use them if they didn’t deliver this level of performance every time. They’re top-of-the-line, and I only use top-of-the-line; if it passes my test, it’s a solid piece of equipment.”

 

2x Sx600

6x Sx300

4x Sb122

5x CP4000S

2x DC-One

1x REV wireless microphone system

1x Telex ULM-21 lavalier microphone

1x Telex SR-50 single-channel wireless assisted listening system