“Reliability & ease of installation are key to me,” says Aaron Replogle of Control Point Technology, the company behind the audio solutions installed in three Penn National Gaming facilities in Toledo, Columbus and Kansas City over the course of 2012. Citing both his familiarity with Lab.Gruppen and Tannoy and their reputation for quality as the primary reasons he choose their products, Replogle added simply, “They just get the job done.”
Although all three projects were different, similar systems – incorporating between 100-200 Tannoy CMS DC in-ceiling loudspeakers and various Lab.Gruppen C Series amplifiers, ranging form C5:4Xs to C88:4s – were ideal in each case.
Typically, Replogle says, Tannoy CMS 801DC’s are used for areas with high, vaulted ceilings such as the gaming area because they provide the kind of crisp, intelligible sound necessary for cutting through the din of the average casino floor. Tannoy CMS 501DCs are used in various service areas, hallways, and restaurants. In addition to providing background music, scheduled messaging and paging, the Tannoy loudspeakers can be tied into the casino’s main stage audio system so performances can be broadcast throughout the facility.
Tannoy’s dedicated mounting hardware was also a definite plus, Replogle adds. “It helps make them a great installation speaker, particularly in situations where you’ve got a hard ceiling that you can’t get behind to put in extra support. They drip right in and they’re easy to hook up.”
In Columbus, Lab.gruppen C Series amplifiers power elements of the casino’s main live performance stage system as well as the facility’s distributed audio system. “Columbus is the largest install thus far. We have three C 48:4s, three C28:4s, one C16:4, one 10:4X, one 10:8X, one C 20:8X powering over one hundred Tannoy CMS 501s and forty-two CMS 801s. We also have a C:68:4 driving the sub woofers and a pair of monitor channels for the main stage.”
Control Point also specified a Lab.gruppen E Series 4:2 amplifier to power Tannoy loudspeakers installed in the facility’s staff training rooms; rooms that are sometimes left unused for lengthy periods of time and in where the E Series auto-power down feature helps to reduce the ‘electricity penalty’ another product would impose.
Additional system elements include Peavey MediaMatrix DSP controlled by proprietary control software developed by Control Point and a KVM switch over IP, which users can access the system from any computer on the facility’s network.
The result is both user-friendly and install-friendly, Replogle says: “Tannoy offers good sounds out of the box. I can put them in a ceiling, fire them up and do only minimal EQ. The amplifiers I chose because I trust the Lab.grouppen name. I know they make quality products and any time I’ve had questions, their service department has been right there to answer them.”
Aaron Replogle is a Product Manager at Control Point Technology. Established by John Wise in 2007, the Lebanon, PA-based firm specializes in A/V consulting, design, and integration for horse tracks, racing facilities, and casinos.