NICHINAN-CITY, JAPAN – OCTOBER 2015: As people outside the professional audio industry have more and more experiences with great-quality sound reinforcement systems, their tolerance for muddy, inarticulate systems diminishes. Evidence that expectations have reached new heights comes from Japan, where Morimoto Naniwa Sound Projects Co., Ltd. of Tokyo has designed numerous professional-grade sound reinforcement systems for schools. The latest is Wakasugi Nursery School in Nichinan-City, Miyazaki Prefecture. To give the school great sound that would be easy for the staff to operate, Masaki Morimoto, co-owner of Morimoto Naniwa Sound Projects, specified an Ashly Audio ne24.24M processor with an Ashly FR-16 remote fader controller for adjusting input and output levels along with Ashly’s intuitive iPad control for scene selection.
Wakasugi Nursery School’s sound reinforcement system is principally for a recital area that can seat two hundred people in the school’s brand new building, but it also covers its classrooms and common areas. “Parents are paying attention, and a nursery school with more professional facilities – including its recital area – can attract more students,” explained Morimoto. “The school asked for a system that would have great musical sound and intelligibility, and yet would be very simple for the non-technical staff to operate. Ashly Audio’s processors are very high-quality but cost-effective, and Ashly’s remote fader banks are intuitive even for audio novices. Moreover, Ashly’s iPad Remote is very appealing and easy to use.” Zenzo Akado, an architect with lots of experience with early education facilities, designed the new building, and Yamagiwa Design Company installed the system specified by Morimoto.
Inputs to the system include two wireless microphones, two wired microphones, and a CD player with an auxiliary input. An Ashly Audio ne24.24M processor with its modular I/O count configured for eight inputs and twelve outputs handles all of the input conditioning, routing logic, delays, and loudspeaker processing. Zones include the recital hall, the lobby, the entrance, and each of several classrooms. ElectroVoice CPS amplifiers power a diverse complement of loudspeakers manufactured by On Point Audio, OneSystems, and – for the recital hall – custom SSL0920A loudspeakers developed by Morimoto Naniwa Sound Projects. In addition, the Ashly ne24.24M provides a record output so that the nursery school staff can easily make high-quality recordings of performances for parents and promotional materials.
Easy end-user control was paramount to the success of the sound system at Wakasugi Nursery School, and Morimoto went into the project knowing that Ashly’s user-control systems would capably meet that requirement. For control of individual input and output volumes, he gave the staff an Ashly FR-16 fader remote, which gives them sixteen faders and mutes that Morimoto custom configured in a way that would be clear to the staff. In addition, he gave them Ashly’s easy-to-use iPad app, which reconfigures the entire system for several different pre-programmed “scenes” to match with the school’s different plans.
ABOUT ASHLY AUDIO
Ashly Audio Inc. is recognized as a world leader in the design and manufacturing of high quality & high performance signal processing equipment and power amplification for use in the commercial sound contracting and professional audio markets. The 40-year old company is headquartered in Webster, New York U.S.A.
