Masque Sound Goes Back To School to Equip Brooklyn Tech with New Turnkey Audio System

New York City's Third Largest Auditorium Receives Professional Audio Upgrade

BROOKLYN, NY, JANUARY 28, 2013—When Brooklyn Tech High School, one of New York City's most prestigious public high schools, needed to overhaul the outdated audio system in its 80-year-old auditorium, it called on Masque Sound, a leading theatrical sound reinforcement, installation and design company, to do the job. The company equipped the majestic hall with a range of state-of-the-art audio equipment.masque-sound_brooklyn-tech-main-arrays.jpg

Built in 1933, Brooklyn Tech is home to the third largest auditorium in New York, second only to Radio City Music Hall and the Metropolitan Opera House. Featuring seating for 3,100 and two balconies, the auditorium underwent a 2010 architectural makeover designed to preserve the hall’s 20th century elegance. The Masque Sound upgrade, meanwhile, brought the audio capacity up to 21st-century, professional-caliber productions standards.

Sub-contracted by Midland Electric and working with acoustical design firm Criterion Acoustics, the team at Masque Sound put together a package comprising state-of-the art equipment from d&b, Peavey Electronics Corporation, Crestron, Blackmagic and L-ACOUSTICS. “From a functionality standpoint, we wanted to provide Brooklyn Tech with a turnkey solution,” says Matt Peskie, systems engineer, Masque Sound. “From the cabling infrastructure to the speakers, and all other audio equipment in between, everything has been replaced.”

A significant part of Masque Sound’s involvement in the project was speaker and sound reinforcement. The existing setup in the auditorium never had speakers that could completely cover underneath the first balcony or the upper balcony. Masque Sound installed two rows of delay speakers under the balcony, and one row in the upper balcony, which significantly improves the clarity of sound for those seated in those areas.

Peskie integrated an array of speakers from d&b for the upgrade. “I like the tonality and flexibility of the d&b speakers,” he notes. “They provide a very natural sound straight out of the box. We used seven different models of their speakers on this particular job. d&b has a wide array of products for different needs and applications, so we were easily able to install a speaker that was the size we needed and would give us the output and coverage required.”masque-sound_brooklyn-tech-stage-racks.JPG

Masque Sound also incorporated all d&b proprietary D6 & D12 amplifiers, which are loaded with every preset required for the individual speaker models. The speakers work in conjunction with the d&b R1 control software system, making it easy to set up user pages to aid in system tuning. The amplifiers, in turn, also utilize a Lyntec sequencer, making it simple to power them on and off. Users can get the system up and running with the push of a button in 20 seconds. Masque Sound also used the Peavey MediaMatrix units for all of the audio DSP. Media Matrix allowed the audio system to interface with Crestron, as well as all other venue audio distribution and processing.

Masque Sound also installed a Crestron TPS-6X tilt touch screen to give the end user a straight forward interface with the system. It combines a 5.7-inch active-matrix display and powerful Isys engine to produce stunning 16-bit color graphics with extreme versatility and lightning-fast performance. Users control all the technology in the upgraded auditorium with the Crestron TPS-6X interface.

“The auditorium is absolutely spectacular. It now sounds as amazing as it looks,” adds Peskie. “Masque Sound is committed to providing schools with state-of-the art solutions that will allow students and those involved in the arts programs at the schools to have the audio resources they need to create whatever they can dream up.”

Built on its present site in the 1930s, at a cost of $6 million, Brooklyn Technical High School, commonly known as Brooklyn Tech, is the largest specialized high school for science, technology, engineering and mathematics in the United States. Twelve stories high, it covers more than half a city block. Operated by the New York City Department of Education, the school was cited by The Washington Post in 2006 as one of the best magnet schools in the United States.

About Masque Sound

Founded in 1936 by a trio of Broadway stagehands, Masque Sound evolved into one of NYC’s most successful theatrical sound reinforcement, installation and design companies specializing in theatrical, house of worship, sporting, corporate, TV broadcast and live concert events. Celebrating more than 75 years in the industry, the company is lead by Geoff Shearing, the firm’s 3rd generation owner, and General Manager Stephanie Hansen. The company also operates Florida-based Professional Wireless Systems, a leader in the development and implementation of wireless technology. Credits range from major Broadway shows and tours including “Phantom of the Opera,” “Mamma Mia!,” “Lion King,” “Jersey Boys,” “Memphis,” “The Book of Mormon,” “Newsies” and “Once” to yearly Super Bowl broadcasts and installations of varying sizes, including New York’s New Victory Theater and historic St. Bartholomew’s Church. Masque Sound’s 70,000 sq. ft. corporate headquarters and main assembly facility is located at 21 East Union Ave., East Rutherford, NJ, 20 minutes from midtown Manhattan. For more information, call (201) 939-8666 or visit www.MasqueSound.com.