Background
Northmead High School is a Creative and Performing Arts High School located in Sydney. Northmead has a proud tradition of catering to the needs of its students, many of whom attend the school for its performing arts focus and the extra curricular activities offered in the performing and creative arts including music, dance and drama. Northmead also offers Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses to students in Entertainment, providing students with entertainment industry specific technical skills, and VET qualifications to provide a pathway to work in the industry.
Throughout each year Northmead presents a number of drama productions and music performances in its main auditorium, along with a variety of other school presentations and events. These productions require sound reinforcement solutions that provide a high level of audio quality in line with the school’s vision for delivering excellence in performing and creative arts.
Upgrading to EW-D
Northmead recently upgraded their wireless microphone systems, replacing a mixture of Sennheiser legacy G3 systems and an assortment of other systems that had been accumulated over the years with an integrated wireless system featuring 12-channels of Sennheiser EW-D.
According to Northmead’s Head Teacher of Creative and Performing Arts, Daniel Wilson, “The key things we were looking for in the new system were sound quality, improved multichannel operability with less interference, and durability and reliability given that all of the equipment will be used regularly by students”.
The decision to upgrade to Sennheiser’s EW-D wireless systems were based on several factors.
“We have had great experience with Sennheiser wireless in the past with our legacy G3 systems serving us well over many years. We knew that the sound and build quality would meet our needs and we have been very impressed with both. The sound quality is exceptional and we have had comments from many people around the clarity that these systems provide. The build quality is great too and the metal beltpacks feel very rugged.”
Technology was also a factor in the decision, with EW-D offering many innovative features.
As in any large setup, wireless reliability and performance were also key requirements with Northmead needing a system that would operate without dropouts or interference and the ability to scale up and easily add additional channels amongst the increasingly congested RF landscape. In terms of performance, EW-D has exceeded expectations.
“The system has been great. The first performance was fantastic and we have had no issues at all which has been a big improvement on the previous system. In fact, our School Principal was so impressed with the new gear that she gave us additional budget to add some additional systems to the setup!”
Suitability for Education
Sennheiser’s EW-D has proven to be highly suitable for education institutions due to its excellent sound quality, technology, scalability, simple user interface and robust build quality.
“I would definitely recommend EW-D to other institutions considering upgrading their gear. With students using the gear regularly we needed something well-built and long lasting – not just a cheap solution that won’t last long and will give you problems. The quality, reliability and durability of EW-D at this price really makes it very worthwhile. The systems are intuitive and very easy to use too and they sound great. We have been really impressed.”
System components used:
- 12x channels EW-D Receivers
- EW-D Base SK beltpack
- EW-D Base SKM-S handheld systems with MMD935 capsules
- EW-D ASA Splitter
- ADP-UHF Antennas
- Rack and accessories
System design, installation and integration provided by Turramurra Music
