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Harley-Davidson Dealership Rides with Bogen PA System
Bogen Amplified > Harley-Davidson Dealership Rides with Bogen PA System
Harley-Davidson Dealership Rides with Bogen PA System
Case Study / White Paper |
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Challenge
A new Harley-Davidson motorcycle dealership in western New York needed a PA system as rugged as a Harley Sportster. And the system requirements were as tough as Harley riders – it had to stand up to harsh Great Lakes weather while providing great sound for everything from outdoor parking lot rallies to indoor zone pages.
The electrical contractor for Harley-Davidson of Jamestown, located near the shores of Lake Erie, tapped The Hite Company of Altoona, Pennsylvania to handle the system design and selection. Tim Merritts of The Hite Company said the first challenge came with the original design which called for just two speakers in the entire shop area, one in the repair center and one in the warehouse. The under-powered, under-provisioned system didn’t meet Harley-Davidson of Jamestown’s requirements for a robust outdoor sound system to provide paging and music for outdoor events and motorcycle rallies, as well as clear, accurate, flexible paging to cover everything from management offices and the showroom floor to the noisy repair center.
- Design system for both indoor and outdoor environments
- Provide flexibility to handle wide range of audio needs
- Complement Harley-Davidson image
Solution
Merritts, who has been selling Bogen equipment for 30 years, immediately recommended Bogen’s NEAR® A-Series Loudspeakers (A2T) to handle the outdoor challenge. “The harsh winters and humid summers demand a rugged speaker such as the NEAR® A-Series,” observed Merritts. “Bogen’s NEAR® speakers feature metal-alloy drivers that beat traditional paper or plastic cones hands down. The outstanding response and accuracy simply have to be heard to be believed. And, of course, the metal construction provides remarkable cone stability over long periods of time that paper cones can’t come close to touching.” To drive the A2T’s located along the building’s exterior periphery, Merritts chose Bogen’s Gold Seal Series Amplifiers including a GS150 (150 watts) and GS100 (100 watts).
In addition to the A-Series loudspeakers outside, Merritts recommended Bogen’s NEAR® Orbit Pendant Speakers (OPS1W) inside to handle the big spaces created by the dealership’s open architecture. “The Orbit’s contemporary, industrial look fits perfectly with Harley-Davidson’s rugged image,” adds Merritts. “Suspended from the open ceiling, the Orbit speakers blended beautifully with the exposed pipes while providing evenly distributed sound throughout.” In addition to the Orbit’s good looks and room-filling sound, Merritts liked the “musicality” the speaker provided – the unparalleled imaging and precise musical reproduction. This was particularly important to Harley-Davidson of Jamestown because the dealership receives two direct satellite radio feeds from Harley, playing motorcycle-themed music and company-related commercials throughout the day. To provide the power for the 12 Orbit speakers, Merritts selected the Bogen Gold Seal Series GS250 Amplifier (250 watts).
To handle general paging duties in the noisy shop area, 13 Bogen Horn Loudspeakers (SPT15A) and 5 Drop-In Ceiling Speakers (CSD2X2) were installed and powered by a Bogen 60-watt Gold Seal Series Amplifier (GS60). Harley-Davidson of Jamestown also requested a separate mini-system to provide music for their custom motorcycle designer to use during customer presentations; the request was fulfilled with a 2-way FG-Series Foreground Speaker (FG15B) driven by a 10-watt Classic Series Amplifier (C10).
Results
“I don’t know how we conducted business with our old PA and intercom system, our new Bogen system gives us so much more flexibility”, states Brian Reid, Vice President of Harley Davidson of Jamestown.
“The client really likes their new Bogen system,” said Merritts. “They like both how it looks and sounds and how well it fits into the Harley-Davidson brand image for their new dealership. By value engineering their original sound system design, we were able to give them a much better, more flexible system that features different zones for different purposes. The rugged NEAR® A2T speakers outside easily handle the harshest weather conditions while delivering big sound for their outdoor events while the SPT15A’s enable pages to be clearly heard above the bustle and noise of the repair center inside. And the Bogen Gold Seal Series Amplifiers are one of my favorites. I like their reliability – they simply work, period.”
Amplifiers
This installation utilizes two popular Bogen public address amplifier lines: the Gold Seal Series and Classic Series. A GS60 amplifier is dedicated to general paging chores. All GS series amplifiers provide flexible telephone paging control, 7 inputs for a variety of mics and components, as well as a 10-band, dual-mode, graphic equalizer. A single Bogen Classic Series Amplifier (C10) powers a Bogen FG15 Foreground Speaker used to add musical enhancement to in-house custom motorcycle design CAD presentations.
Speakers
NEAR A2T Speakers: Bogen's NEAR Technology, incorporated in the A2T speakers, is ideally suited for the wide range of environmental conditions and usage. Its Metal Diaphragm Technology (MDT™) features light, metal-alloy speaker cones impervious to humidity and temperature swings, yet rigid and lightweight for ultra-low distortion and bright, natural sound. Powder-coated aluminum mounting brackets, threaded brass inserts, and gold-plated connectors make these speakers among the most durable outdoor speakers in the industry.
Features include corrosion-resistant mounting hardware, minimal distortion even at high output, and outstanding sound dispersion for outdoor use.
NEAR Orbit Pendant Speakers: These speakers are specifically designed for excellent sound dispersion in open interior spaces while delivering crystal clear, highly accurate sound reproduction. Patented MLS technology features a magnetic ferrofluid suspension that precisely centers the voice coil and eliminates distortion.
Bogen SPT15A Horn Loudspeakers: The SPT15A offers high efficiency and excellent reproduction for a wide range of commercial paging uses where ambient noise can be an issue. Sturdy, all-metal construction makes these ideal for rugged environments.
Bogen Drop-In Ceiling Speakers: The CSD2X2 speakers are easy to install in suspended ceiling grids in office areas. The speakers are 2' x 2' and fit perfectly into 2' x 2' grids, or by just making a single straight cut to a ceiling tile will fit into a 2' x 4' grid. This simplicity of design saves installation time, effort, and cost. All that needs to be done is connect the wires and place the speaker into the grid. These speakers are plenum-rated, meeting requirements of UL standard 2043 for smoke and heat release. The speakers are available in off-white and bright white finish.
Equipment List
- 1 GS250 Gold Seal Series Amplifier, 250 Watts
- 1 GS150 Gold Seal Series Amplifier, 150 Watts
- 1 GS100 Gold Seal Series Amplifier, 100 Watts
- 1 GS60 Gold Seal Series Amplifier, 60 Watts
- 1 C10 Classic Series Amplifier, 10 Watts
- 12 OPS1W Orbit Pendant Speakers, Off-White
- 23 A2TBLK NEAR® A-Series Loudspeakers, Black
- 13 SPT15A Horn Loudspeakers
- 1 FG15B Foreground Speaker, Black
- 5 CSD2X2 Drop-In Ceiling Speakers, Off-White
- 1 AT10A Speaker Attenuator
Key Products
- GS250 Gold Seal Series Amplifiers, 35W - 250W
- CSD2X2 Drop-In Ceiling Speakers
- SPT15A Horn Loudspeakers
- A2T NEAR® A-Series Loudspeakers
- OPS1W NEAR® Orbit Pendant Speakers