Clinton speech to test high-tech sound system

Fieldhouse gets new speakers for today's event

The sound for former President Clinton’s lecture this afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse may not be so bad after all.

“They had a sound check last night, and it really sounded good,” said Richard Konzem, associate director at Kansas University’s Dole Institute of Politics. “I was surprised.”

Earlier, Konzem had warned prospective attendees that Allen Fieldhouse’s barn-like acoustics would make it difficult for some to hear Clinton, who will deliver the inaugural Dole Lecture.

“Sound will be an issue,” Konzem had said.

But that was before StagePro, a Lawrence-based production company, had a chance to show what it could do.

StagePro workers spent Tuesday and Wednesday suspending 16 4-foot-tall speakers from the fieldhouse ceiling.

“This is brand new, state-of-the-art technology,” said Nick Mourn, audio division manager at StagePro, 720 E. Ninth St.

Within each speaker are several smaller adjustable units that can point at different parts of the building. Each unit’s volume is adjustable.

“We can make it so the sound for the person sitting in the front will be the same as the sound for the person in the back row,” Mourn said.

Steps also have been taken to eliminate frequencies that cause echo.

Nick Mourn, audio division manager StagePro, a Lawrence-based production company, tests the specially installed sound system at Allen Fieldhouse for today's speech by former President Bill Clinton.

“I’m not saying there won’t be any echo,” he said. “But there won’t be much.”

Mourn said tests at Allen Fieldhouse found that some frequencies “reverberated for as much as five seconds.”

Carpet on the basketball court’s surface, too, is expected to reduce the building’s echo.

“That and the fact that there will be chairs and people sitting on the floor should make a big difference. Essentially, that takes a big, flat surface out of the formula,” said StagePro president Jay Waller.

The Dole Institute hired StagePro late last week, shortly after switching the venue for Clinton’s address from the Lied Center to Allen Fieldhouse.

The Lied Center seats 1,900. About 12,000 people are expected at Allen Fieldhouse.

Clinton is scheduled to begin speaking at 2:15 p.m. Doors open at 12:30 p.m.