Demonstrating how advanced A/V systems can support both artistic and commercial goals of a modern gaming and hospitality venue, Caesars Atlantic City has completed a major upgrade of its 1600-seat theater with Harman HiQnet control. The system uses dbx DriveRack processors and Crown amplifiers powering JBL VERTEC line arrays According to technical manager Jim Esher of Caesars Atlantic City operations, the goal of the upgrade was to increase the seating capacity to 1600 and, “to create a state-of-the-art sound and light experience for our guests.”
The HiQnet-enabled amplifier racks includes 29 Crown I-Tech devices — seven I-Tech IT 4000 models, 16 IT 6000 models and six Crown IT 8000 models. These power a left-center-right mains system with secondary stereo delay loudspeakers. The two primary arrays use eight JBL VERTEC VT4889 full-size three-way boxes each, plus a total of 12 VT4880A arrayable subwoofers. The center cluster features three VERTEC VT4887 compact line array elements, while the delay system features four JBL PD5322/64 loudspeakers. Six JBL Pro MS 28 stage lip speakers provide front fill. The system is configured and controlled with HiQnet System Architect software from the console to the amplifier.
When touring acts come in with their own consoles, they simply plug into the dbx DriveRack 4800 system processors, which offer both analog and digital inputs with EQ parameters through the 4800’s, to access the system.
House processing is done internally via the Crown amplifiers’ digital signal processing section. Each amp rack has a 1GB, 48-port Cisco switch to HiQnet routing and switching to the amplifiers, enabling the HiQnet interface to be controlled from either the FOH or monitor position. The Cisco switches are used to manage network traffic rather than looping through all the amplifiers, a technique that minimizes latency and, with the system’s Ethernet backbone, enables future expansion for network media transport.
For more information, visit www.harmanpro.com.
