Meyer Sound News : Meyer Sound UPMs a Perfect Fit for Museum Auditorium

Meyer Sound UPMs a Perfect Fit for Museum Auditorium

"I was pretty much convinced to go with another system before we had our demonstrations, but when I heard those two little UPM speakers in stereo with the sub, I was completely floored by their performance."

- Michael McCarty
Museum Technician

The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History recently installed a Meyer Sound 5.1 surround system in its showcase 170-seat Robert S. Kerr Auditorium. The system comprises three UPM-1P Ultra-Compact Wide Coverage loudspeakers for the front L-C-R speakers, a pair of UPM-2P Ultra-Compact Narrow Coverage loudspeakers for the rear surrounds, and a UMS-1P Ultra-Compact subwoofer.

The new museum complex, built at a cost of $37.5 million and opened in May of 2000, is located on the University of Oklahoma campus at Norman.

The visually stunning Kerr Auditorium was originally designed as a space suitable for lectures and basic A/V presentations. But after evaluating potential uses during the first year of operation, the museum's director envisioned a wider role for the room.

"He realized the future potential of high definition video and surround sound in the museum setting," says Michael McCarty, the Museum Technician and resident audio expert. "But that meant putting in a high-def video projection system and a theater-quality 5.1 surround sound system."

The transformation would be tricky, McCarty realized, because the 170-seat room was not designed for such uses. The "live" acoustics—primarily from the surrounding white maple walls—demanded tight pattern control from the speakers. Also, for aesthetic reasons, the front L-C-R speakers had to be soffit mounted in the wall for relative invisibility when the screen was raised.

"We had only about 14 inches of cavity space for the speakers and mounting brackets," McCarty notes. "That narrowed our field of choices to about a half dozen speakers."

McCarty arranged on-site demonstrations of most potential systems, and he admits that he carried some preconceived assumptions into the trials.

"I was pretty much convinced to go with another system before we had our demonstrations," McCarty confesses. "But when I heard those two little UPM speakers in stereo with the sub, I was completely floored by their performance. And it wasn't just me. Other staff came in as well, and we took a vote on it. There was no question which one we would choose."

The system was supplied by Troxell Communications, with installation by Chris Gibson. Final tuning of the Meyer Sound loudspeakers was done by Scott Taylor of Meyer Sound and Alan Knutson of PDC Sound and Light in Norman.

"Everybody who has heard the system has come away impressed," McCarty says.

Audio sources for the Meyer Sound system are a DVD player, S-VHS VCR, CD player and audio cassette deck, with surround decoding by a Lexicon MC-1 and signal routing on a Panja switching system. Video facilities include a Christie X5 projector and a retractable 16x9 format screen.

With over 195,000 sq. feet of exhibit space, the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History is one of the largest university-owned museums in the United States. The museum collections currently house over 5 million artifacts.

December, 2002