TM400 Wireless System for Test and Measurement eliminates bothersome cables
Rio Rancho, NM – October 2006… You can install the best loudspeakers and the most powerful amplifiers available to create a sound reinforcement system that is the envy of the industry, but until that system is tuned, it’s still a diamond in the rough. With the help of a Lectrosonics TM400 Wireless System for Test and Measurement, the newly renovated sound system at the University of Kentucky’s Commonwealth Stadium is now a shining example of audio engineering.
Home to the University of Kentucky’s Wildcats football team, Commonwealth Stadium is a huge facility with a seating capacity of 67,600—so it goes without saying that the sound system needs to be pretty darn potent to be heard above the crowd. Nashville, TN-based Spectrum Sound, Inc., a design/build firm that also handles equipment sales and rentals as well as the manufacturing of equipment cases, was charged with the task of renovating the EAW 900 loudspeaker cluster. When it came time to tune the system, the Spectrum Sound team was faced with the thankless task of running hundreds of feet of microphone cable to take their measurements—until they discovered the Lectrosonics TM400.
According to Ken DeBelius, sales manager for Spectrum Sound’s installed sound division, “Commonwealth Stadium is a very large venue with massive seating capacity. Once the equipment installation was completed, we needed to tune the system and were dreading the prospect of having to run mic cables everywhere in order to take our measurements. We knew there had to be a better, more manageable solution to this issue, and we found it with the Lectrosonics TM400.”
Designed to provide the ideal link between calibrated test microphones and measurement equipment such as SIM®, SIA SMAART Live®, TEF® or other systems, the TM400 employs Lectrosonics’ highly advanced Digital Hybrid Wireless™ technology that uses a proprietary algorithm to encode digital audio information into an analog format that can be transmitted in a robust manner over an analog FM wireless link. The system’s benefit is much higher dynamic range than that offered by wireless systems with a compandor—and this translates to greater system accuracy when tuning a sound reinforcement system.
“The day we tuned the Commonwealth Stadium system,” says DeBelius, “it was raining, and there was simply no way we were going to drag 500 feet or more of microphone cable through the bleachers to tune the sound system. With the TM400, we had the freedom to walk the venue without having to worry about whether or not we had enough cable to get the job done—or dragging those cables around all types of obstacles. Running all those cables to tune a system can be a real hassle, and the TM400 resolves all of that—this is a real plug and play solution. After making a few connections and adjusting the levels, the TM400 worked perfectly. With the Digital Hybrid Wireless technology, we knew we could trust the linearity of the measurements. For anyone involved in system tuning, I highly recommend it.”
For additional information about Spectrum Sound, Inc., visit the company online at www.spectrumsound.net.
About the Lectrosonics TM400
With 24-bit, 88.2 kHz digital signal handling for compandor-free audio, 256 synthesized UHF frequencies, Digital Hybrid Wireless technology, and rugged all-metal construction, the TM400 comes standard with the UH400TM transmitter, R400a receiver and CCTM400 water-resistant case. Components can be ordered individually and the R400A receiver can be ordered with a rack-mount front panel.
About Lectrosonics
Well respected within the film, broadcast, and theater technical communities since 1971, Lectrosonics wireless microphone systems and audio processing products are used daily in mission-critical applications by audio engineers familiar with the company's dedication to quality, customer service, and innovation. Lectrosonics is a US manufacturer based in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.
