The new Ed Robson Arena at Colorado College is a 3,400-seat, multi-purpose, state-of-the-art sports venue and the first on-campus hockey facility for the Colorado College Tigers in their 86-year history. With Colorado College management recognizing that today's audio systems play a critical part in any stadium and arena event, LEA Professional Connect Series digital audio amplifiers were installed to ensure fans would have the best possible experience.
To enhance audience enjoyment and engagement, many multi-use stadiums and arenas are now installing high-quality, flexible sound systems that can give spectators a great experience—far beyond that of the harsh, voice-only PA systems of yesteryear. With quality sound objectives in mind, Colorado College brought in AV consultant AJP to design and integration firm C.V. Lloyde Audiovisual to install the Ed Robson Arena’s sound system. C.V. Lloyde recommended using a set of Connect Series multi-channel digital audio amplifiers to play a critical role in the audio system.
C.V. Lloyde has been providing Pro AV design, sales, and installation services for more than 150 years. With a deep-rooted philosophy that the actual installation must not compromise the quality of a professional system, C.V. Lloyde counts many universities, stadiums, houses of worship, school districts, and corporate facilities among its clients.
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"Good audio quality is a critical part of any sports and entertainment venue," said Stephen Morris, president of C.V. Lloyde. "Audiences have gotten used to excellent sound quality from their home systems and theaters and clubs. To keep fans and audiences coming back, arenas need to put in the effort to improve sound and ensure that audiences and fans cannot just see but also hear everything going on. Colorado College was committed to this, and the results have been great."
C.V. Lloyde was responsible for the entire AV package, including being part of certain design changes, installation of the new arena exterior/back-of-house sound systems, as well as suite and zone programming. At the heart of the new system is a set of five Dante-enabled, Connect Series digital audio amplifiers from LEA Professional. Specifically, two CS704D, two CS354D, and a single CS168D deliver a total of 24 audio channels. Ideally suited for medium-scale installations, the two, four, and eight-channel amplifiers feature direct Hi-Z (70V or 100V) or Lo-Z selectable by channel.
“The arena’s audio system is all connected and controlled via a Dante audio network,” said Morris. “So having out-of-the-box, Dante-ready amplifiers powering the system made everything easy to connect and configure.”
The Connect Series features cloud connectivity, providing integrators with remote control, monitoring, notifications, and more from nearly any smart device. Unique within the industry, all LEA Professional amplifiers leverage the built-in Amazon Web Services (AWS) IoT Core. The platform allows integrators to monitor critical operational data points that are integral to maintaining system health remotely. The capability delivers greater visibility to provide preventative maintenance, easier troubleshooting, and fewer on-site maintenance requirements.
Since the arena's opening in 2021, it has hosted games for several hockey leagues, and the arena’s open-skating hours—supported with music—have become very popular. The arena also features a multi-purpose event room, small catering kitchen, and outdoor meeting patio space for use in the warmer months.
“The Ed Robson Arena’s audio system has the sound quality to engage fans and deliver a great experience, and the system’s Dante flexibility allows it to be configured to meet the needs of most any event,” added Morris. “The quality, efficiency, and connectivity of the LEA Connect Series amplifiers play a central part in pulling the project together.”
