OCEAN CITY — Resort officials this week got their first exposure to the new state-of-the-art sound system at the Performing Arts Center, and despite the need to tweak the system to remove a barely discernible hum, they were generally pleased with the result.
After one year of operation under its belt, the sound system at the Performing Arts Center (PAC) in the Roland E. Powell Convention Center was deemed in need of a major upgrade. During the design and construction phase, the PAC’s audio system equipment was specified as a basic lecture and voice quality sound system, but after a year of performances, it was decided the initial sound system at the PAC was insufficient to meet the needs of current acts and performances and could curtail booking higher profile acts in the future.
Last spring, City Engineer Terry McGean told the Mayor and Council the PAC was in need of a permanent, high-quality, music-oriented audio system after the initial system was deemed insufficient after one year of operation for the new facility. During the construction phase, the Town of Ocean City and the contractor, Whiting Turner, dumped the original low-bid contractor hired to install the basic sound system and appropriate rigging for performance and work-quality reasons and a different company, Design Integration, was brought in to complete the task.
Because Design Integration came in and essentially mopped up after the initial low-bidder for the sound system was sacked, McGean told the council in May he and his staff along with Convention Center Director Larry Noccolino were recommending the company be hired to develop a new sound system at the PAC. Design Integration then developed a new state-of-the-art system at the PAC and spent much of the summer installing it.
Following Monday’s Tourism Commission meeting at the Convention Center, resort officials and business leaders were treated to an exhibition of the new sound system at the PAC and were generally pleased with the upgrade. Design Integration officials played four samples of different music styles and volumes as Tourism Commission officials moved around the facility to check the sound quality and volumes and the quality seemed to be vastly improved over the initial system.
Design Integration designed the new system with state-of-the-art Meyers equipment, considered to be the standard for some of the best facilities in the country and around the world. The Meyers system was over two times the cost of the next highest bidder, but resort officials considered it a worthwhile investment. The new system was paid for with funds remaining in the construction budget for the PAC.
