Founded in 1856, St. Paul's School in Concord, NH, is home to more than 530 students who come from 30 countries to live and learn alongside 110 faculty members in a community that is as close-knit as it is varied, with buildings dating from the late 1800s to the 2010s. In the spring of 2025, the school opened the Fleischner Family Admissions Center for prospective students and their families as well as an inspiring community space for current students, faculty, staff, and alumni. The 16,000 square-foot building commissioned a video wall for the two-story, glass-and-timber Jiang-Peng Great Room off the building’s main entrance, paired with the precision of Renkus-Heinz beam-steered audio, to showcase audio-visual presentation of everything life at St. Paul’s has to offer.
[Making Music in a 'Worldwide Classroom']
AV integration specialists MFi Pro, which has partnered for 25 years with the school, were once again entrusted with the installation of the video wall and accompanying sound system. “We worked closely with the consultant company, R.G Vanderweil Engineers,” said Adam Godbout, MFi Pro VP and project manager. “We followed their design spec very closely, but with our knowledge and understanding of the client, we were able to request a few small changes to meet their specific needs for the system.”
Following careful consideration of the room’s complex acoustics, Renkus-Heinz's steerable ICONYX Gen5 IC8 loudspeakers were selected to deliver precise audio coverage. “The Great Room features a floor-to-ceiling glass window directly opposite the video wall,” Godbout explained. “We needed a solution that could address potential sound reflections from the glass while preserving the room’s aesthetic. Being able to steer the audio away from the glass was a deciding factor in choosing the IC8. There are only a few active columns on the market, and even fewer with a Dante network. Other similar products have sub-optimal SPL ratings or are capable of only one beam – the powerful, multibeam IC8 was the clear choice.”
Unlike conventional loudspeakers that radiate broadly and rely on room surfaces to fill a space, the IC8’s digitally steerable column arrays direct independent beams of sound precisely "to the listening plane" (or "at ear height")—delivering consistent, equal coverage to every seat without energy spilling onto reflective surfaces. "The IC8s are positioned to the left and right of the video screen, just above standing head height," said Godbout. "Discreetly installed behind acoustically transparent fabric panels, they blend into the wall while directing audio exactly where it needs to go—without feedback, reflections, or drop-off from front to back."
“The system needed to be simple enough for multiple school departments and presenters to operate, as well as the school’s IT department. A key priority was ensuring that presenters can easily connect their devices, with microphones positioned throughout the room for even coverage, and audio tuned to feel as though it’s coming directly from the screen, without feedback or reflections. The Renkus-Heinz IC8 made this possible.”
After originally configuring the column arrays by ear, MFi Pro turned to RHAON II, Renkus-Heinz's free system management platform available to all customers—for a more refined approach. RHAON II combines loudspeaker control, status monitoring, and secure audio configuration with the integrated OmniBeam beam-optimization tool, which visualizes coverage and reduces setup error. "OmniBeam produced the same, if not better, results in far less time," recalls Godbout. "After a few small tweaks to the EQ, we had precise and uniform coverage across the Great Room, +/-2dB at seated height from the screen to the back of the room."
When the Fleischner Family Admissions Center officially opened its doors in May 2025, the audiovisual system was unveiled, welcoming guests with a video presentation of the new facility and its construction. “St. Paul’s School loves the new space and is proud of the system’s capabilities,” said Godbout. “The Fleischner Family Admissions Center Great Room is a striking example of how cutting-edge technology can harmonize with tradition.”
