Claremont McKenna College – Roberts Pavilion

What Client Says

“The result was tremendous. It’s night and day from before to afterwards.”
Steve Hollingsworth [Sales Rep. for Western Audio Visual, the college’s longtime AV integrator]

"It’s about precision; small clusters covering small areas, which allows us to keep the volume of each cluster lower, and the overall room noise – the ambient and destructive, reflective energy from the sides and backs of the line arrays and sides of line arrays and so on – at a minimum.”
Brandon Operchuck [GeerTech Application Engineer]

Roberts Pavilion at Claremont McKenna College is a 2,500-seat arena designed to support both athletics and a wide range of campus events, including ceremonies, guest lectures, and large gatherings. As the venue’s role expanded over time, the existing audio system proved insufficient to meet modern requirements for sound pressure level and speech intelligibility.
A complete system upgrade was undertaken to address the acoustic challenges typical of large, reflective arenas. The project was developed in collaboration with Western Audio Visual, with key contributions from Steve Hollingsworth, Kevin Laymon, dBTechnologies Applications Engineer Andy Tindall, and GeerTech Application Engineers Brandon Operchuck and Alyssa Ishii.

The goal was to deliver consistent coverage, improved clarity for speech, and full-range performance for music—without relying on excessive volume that would exacerbate reverberation. The design focused on increasing the number of coverage points to reduce the distance between loudspeakers and listeners, enabling lower operating levels and greater precision across the entire venue.

A total of 79 IS Series loudspeakers were deployed, including:
55 IS210L
12 IS210T
12 IS115S subwoofers

All speakers were custom-finished in white to integrate discreetly into the architectural environment.
Audience coverage is handled by multiple compact array clusters positioned to target specific seating zones, ensuring even distribution and minimizing reflective energy. Smaller arrays are placed closer to upper seating areas to maintain intelligibility, while the court area is supported by a dedicated multi-zone system for flexible event configurations.
Low-frequency performance is delivered through a centralized subwoofer arrangement using 12 IS115S, designed to provide coherent, controlled bass response across the space.
The system is powered by a total of 11 amplification units, supporting both the array and subwoofer sections and enabling precise system control and optimization.

With the new installation, Roberts Pavilion now delivers clear, intelligible speech and balanced musical performance across all event types, while offering flexible control and ease of use for everyday operation.