The Miller Center for the Arts at Reading Area Community College in Reading, Pennsylvania, is a 509-seat venue known for its visually striking white interior, refined acoustics and wide-ranging programming that includes national touring acts, student showcases, and civic events. With more than 100 ticketed performances annually, venue leaders recognized the need to modernize its aging sound system. The goal was to deliver superior sonic performance, meet the expectations of visiting artists and engineers, and ensure seamless integration with the venue’s unique aesthetic.
STRAY Production Services, a longtime user and integrator of JBL Professional products, partnered with the college to design and implement a comprehensive audio upgrade anchored by the JBL VTX A6 line array system and Crown iTech Series amplifiers. The system provided pristine clarity, seamless coverage and a visually minimal presence that complemented the room’s all-white design.
“This beautiful venue hosts everything from national music acts and spoken word performances to film studies,” said Eric Lizotte, Vice President of Systems Integration at STRAY. “We needed a solution that could provide exceptional sonic quality every day while honoring aesthetic, budgetary and timeline constraints. JBL VTX A6 delivered on all fronts.”
To preserve the venue’s visual identity, STRAY specified white JBL VTX A6 enclosures. “It’s not the traditional choice, but for this room, it was the right one,” Lizotte added.
To address longstanding coverage challenges, the system leveraged the VTX A6’s 120-degree horn for wide, even dispersion without obstructing sightlines. The main hang included JBL B15 subwoofers, supplemented by flown JBL ASB7128 subwoofers. JBL AM5212/64 speakers provided upper balcony coverage, while JBL AC18/95 speakers were used under the balcony and for front fills. The entire system was powered by Crown iTech amplifiers and managed via BSS BLU-160, connected to the venue’s Dante network for streamlined audio routing and control.
“The acoustics of the room are well controlled, so the real challenge was coverage,” said Lizotte. “This installation has been a great showcase of what the JBL VTX A6 can do. Because the boxes are so compact, we were able to deploy more elements per hang. This gave us finer resolution in our coverage approach and smoother transitions between each zone. The combination of A6 and B15 for the main arrays was just right for the room with plenty of power and impact. The first show I saw after the upgrade was Marc Cohn and it felt like listening on a pair of nearfields.”
STRAY utilized JBL’s Line Array Calculator and Performance Manager software from design through commissioning, optimizing system configuration and enabling real-time monitoring for venue staff.
The results were immediate and widely recognized. Touring musicians, guest engineers and campus leaders all noted the dramatic improvements in clarity and consistency.
“One of the deans, who was aware of the project but not all of the technical particulars, commented that the audio sounded clearer and more consistent within the venue,” Lizotte recalled.
Brett Buckwalter, the Miller Center’s Technical Director, praised the collaboration and the result. “STRAY has an exceptional team that delivers outstanding quality of work,” he shared. “They took great care of our facility and infrastructure. The project came with challenges, but their solutions and communication made the process seamless. We’re thrilled with the results.”
With a modernized system designed to meet the demands of both artists and audiences, the Miller Center for the Arts is poised to continue serving as a cultural cornerstone for Reading and beyond.
