Clair Brothers Systems Revamps Audio At RBC Center With JBL VLA, VERTEC® and Application Engineered® Series Loudspeakers

NORTHRIDGE, California – Demonstrating the superior power handling and articulation of JBL VLA series line arrays, as well as the interoperability of JBL loudspeakers across product lines, Clair Brothers Systems recently upgraded the audio system at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Center’s new system features a combination of JBL VLA and VERTEC® line arrays, as well as Application Engineered® (AE) series loudspeakers.

The RBC Center is home to the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League and the North Carolina State University men’s basketball team. The arena seats 19,722 for basketball and 18,680 for hockey, including 75 luxury suites and 2,000 club seats. The arena also hosts numerous other events, ranging from WWE contests to rock concerts.

According to Jim Devenney, Senior Audio Designer, for Clair Brothers, the audio system at the RBC Center was due for an overhaul. “The system originally installed in the building had lots of clusters and lots of overlap that degraded the system’s intelligibility,” he said. “The system was also underpowered for the events the arena was used for, particularly the Hurricanes and NC State basketball. The goals of the new system were to alleviate those problems and to give the customer the ability to zone the system for different event seating situations.”

For this combination of power and flexibility, Clair Brothers installed a system that consisted of eight arrays each containing 10 VLA901 loudspeakers hanging from the center of the roof, along with two arrays each containing four VLA601 loudspeakers for basketball floor fills. Additionally, four arrays each containing six VT4880A arrayable subwoofers provide additional low-frequency support. Five AM6212 loudspeakers were installed in the scoreboard for center floor/ice fill, while 24 AM4212 loudspeakers were installed for very upper seat delay fill.

“The coverage of the arena with the eight VLA arrays is excellent and the VT4880A subwoofers give the system an extra dynamic and fullness quality,” Devenney said. “The two VLA601 clusters do an excellent job of filling in the floor from the basketball court to the hockey dashers at the ends of the arena.”

Clair Brothers Systems upgraded the audio system at the RBC Center with JBL VLA, VERTEC and AE loudspeakers. Devenney added that the installation provided very few issues or challenges—a rarity for projects of this scale. “The project was done on schedule and within budget,” Devenney said. “Actually, through the value engineering process and with the help of JBL’s Brad Ricks, we had some considerable savings for the customer. All the building people, especially Barry Steiman’s production staff, were very supportive of the project and very helpful during the install.”

For more information on Clair Brothers Systems, please visit www.clairsystems.com