The Del Mar Horse Arena in the Del Mar Fairgrounds complex, north of San Diego, recently received an infusion of raw power and fidelity with the installation of twenty-two Community R2-77 loudspeakers. The Horse Arena, home to the annual National Horse Show, hosts a potpourri of events including tractor pulls and monster truck shows amongst other, interspersed with more sedate events. The owners hired Sound Image, a Southern California based A/V design and installation firm, to replace the existing bandwidth limited 70-volt system with something that could deliver power, and fidelity to match. The old 70-volt system could barely deliver enough power in the 800Hz - 2kHz range to pierce through the roar of the monster trucks, and it was the " piercing sound " that the owners of Del Mar wanted to do away with.

Sound Image's Scott Oosthuizen and Dave Paviol evaluated a number of boxes, raising the output level to 120dB at 80 feet, using program material and pink noise. Of all the comparable models tested, the Community R2's were the only ones that " cut the mustard " everything else broke up before the goal was reached. Paviol attributes Community's success to the compliment of drivers inside the 3-way horn-loaded R2-77, including two 12 " low frequency drivers, the robust M200 midrange driver, and a 1" high frequency driver. A second consideration was Del Mar's proximity to the Ocean and its saline air. In the past, speakers had literally disintegrated from the exposure, but the R2-77's have a weather resistant, fiberglass enclosure to mitigate the malignant effects of the ocean.

The whirlwind five-day installation took place in April 2000, to be completed before the annual National Horse Show. Sound Image's Design team, positioned two R2-77's to cover the infield, two to cover the end bleacher areas, and the remaining eighteen to cover the grandstand. The speakers in the grandstand are secured to the I-beams that support the overhang, at 20-foot intervals, with Community's corrosion-resistant stainless steel U-brackets. Sound Image had a shallow, 50-foot field of throw to work with, having to cover the area directly below the speaker as well as the high-priced seating area above. The R2-77's 60 x 60 degree dispersion was crucial in directing the audio where required. A Mackie 1604 VLZ console feeds a BSS Soundweb processor, and seven QSC PowerLight 4.0 power amplifiers power the R2-77's. Multiple presets are instantly recallable from a custom user interface panel. All gain, limiting, delay and equalization settings are fully automated within the BSS Soundweb processor.

Project Manager Randy Hoff reports that the system is running smoothly: " With the Community R2's, we were able to get the kind of power we needed, with no sacrifice in quality. The client could not stop praising the reliability and performance of the system."

(Courtesy Community loudspeakers for original copy)