Walkerville RSL
Sub Branch and
Community Centre
• Audio • Video
• Acoustic Treatment

98 Walkerville Terrace
Walkerville SA 5081

• Design
• Installation
• Project Management
• Support

Located just north-east of the Adelaide, South Australia, about 4 kilometres from the city centre is the leafy suburb of Walkerville. The streets are lined with established green trees with stunning homes that are full of character and charm. Walkerville offers its residents and visitors access to the River Torrens, parks, recreation and some of Adelaide’s premier schools, such as Walkerville Primary, St. Andrew’s School, Wilderness School and St. Peter’s College.

Nestled in the heart of Walkerville is the local sub-branch of the Returned Service League which is run by volunteers in commemoration of serving and ex-service personnel. The Walkerville RSL Sub-Branch is a poker machine free club and is also the home of the Vietnam Veterans Association Walkerville Sub-Branch, 87 Squadron – Royal Australian Air Force and the Walkerville All Cars Club.

Integrated Audio Solution was invited to develop a solution for Walkerville RSL to upgrade their audio-visual infrastructure and to enhance the performance to cater to a broad range of requirements. Integrated Audio Solution was introduced to the project by Tim Freedman from Allpro Audio Rentals (a long-term rental company for the RSL), along with Richard Trotman-Dickenson from the Walkerville RSL.

Whilst complex in its design and execution the brief for the Walkerville RSL Sub-Branch project was relatively simple. Tim and Richard outlined the requirements to upgrade the existing ceiling speaker system to a more powerful higher fidelity system. Along with the audio upgrades there was also a need to install state-of-the-art new projection equipment and an easy-to-use control system to cater for a variety of different users. These users included long term rental clientele and different entertainers who would bring their own portable systems in.

As with all Integrated Audio Solutions proposals a detailed 3D environment was developed and presented enabling all stakeholders to clearly visualise the look and feel of the system and its management logic. Only when all parties were clear on the full extent of the project was a quotation presented detailing all technical and operational aspects of the system and its control design.

The Audio System
The selected speaker system Walkerville RSL Sub-Branch project comprised a Yamaha VXC8 eight-inch ceiling speaker, along with the Yamaha MTX3 processor, associated control via the preset DCP wall panels and Yamaha PX series of power amps. The system was wired as low-impedance pairs and delayed back to the stage.

Also included in the new equipment rack was a Denon digital broadcast tuner player (DAB) along with a Denon Pro Bluetooth receiver. The RSL’s existing wireless radio system was repurposed, along with the lectern which was modified with HDMI and audio input and out panels.

Vision System
The existing video projector was refurbished with new lamp and filters, extending its life, awaiting future technology changes. The vision switching comprises a Wyrestorm Essentials 4K 4 In x 2 Out compact HDMI matrix, allowing for the DVD player, set top box and the HDMI from the lectern to be switched to the projector, along with a spare output for future expansion.

Acoustic Treatment
RSL President Norm Coleman approached Integrated Audio Solutions to see if they could improve the acoustic harshness of the space and make it a warmer intelligible environment. Wall absorption treatment was out of the question seeing that there was the RSL’s history displayed on all the wall surfaces. It was proposed that a Primacoustic ceiling cloud absorption panel hang be implemented so as there would be zero impact on existing wall real estate.

Treating the ceiling can often lead to the best solution for acoustic sound control. This is particularly true in installations such as in the Walkerville RSL where windows, doors and wall art and imagery can make hanging acoustic panels on walls impossible. The ceiling type in conjunction with the reflective floor can also present an unwanted conduit for sound artifacts if left unchecked. Ceiling cloud absorption panel made for the perfect solution.

Integrated Audio Solutions presented a detailed to scale drawing of the proposed layout aiding in the visualisation. Twenty-four (24) Primacoustic Broadway Absorber Paintable series (left absolute white) 51 cm thick x 122cm x 61 cm where implemented.

The Result
The Integrated Audio Solutions response to the Walkerville RSL Sub-Branch project needed to overcome a range of issues but through the installation of a fit-for-purposed, balanced, easy-to-use audio-visual system and integrating this equipment into a well-designed and acoustically balanced environment, the results are exceptional.

Integrated Audio Solutions provided the Walkerville RSL Sub-Branch with a much more coherent space. Along with enhancing the new audio system fidelity, the echo flutter and reverberation within the environment were tamed, resulting in a much more pleasing and comfortable environment.