Berkeley Preparatory School, a highly ranked Pre-K to Grade 12 day school in Tampa, has a jam-packed schedule of activities for its 1,400+ students, as well as its faculty and staff, from theater productions to chapel services, daily staff meetings in the auditorium and more, all of which require wireless audio solutions. The state-of-the-art school has long used Sennheiser G3 wireless for its audio needs, but recently Productions Technical Director Christopher Cook has been looking for a new solution to meet RF challenges, while enabling a fully networked solution across the sprawling campus. With support from Beamworks, Inc., Berkeley Prep has rolled out 40 channels of Sennheiser’s EW-DX wireless system, the newest and most robust offering from the Evolution Wireless Digital family of products.

As the Productions Technical Director, Christopher is Berkeley Prep’s resource for all things AV, and solely responsible for the technical aspects of all concerts, plays and assemblies. Given the nature of his role, he does not have room for equipment failure or troubleshooting, and must always be prepared for the unexpected, “if something goes down, I need a fast repair. When you’re the one guy people look to you for answers, so you better have it.” he shares. As a longstanding Sennheiser user, Christopher was reliant on the quality of the G3 wireless system for many years, and now subsequently the EW-DX, “Luckily, things don’t go wrong often with Sennheiser. I always have a plan B, plus Beamworks is always quick and stocked with Sennheiser.” 

Christopher has been a Sennheiser user since his time touring with musicians over 20 years ago. He shares, “I started working in audio in 2000, and when you go on tour, people are picky with what brand they use. Through traveling and using different wireless systems and microphones, I found that I always got more gain out of Sennheiser vs. other wireless brands. I fell in love with Sennheiser early and kept with it.” 

Total Remote Control 

As a long-time Sennheiser user and an AV team of one, Christopher’s early adoption of the new EW-DX system was a natural progression. He needed a fully networked solution that could be managed offsite. He explains, “our campus is 80 acres, so I’m not able to walk from room to room – I have to hop on the golf cart. Now I just go on computer, pop on Control Cockpit and make sure everything is good. We are networking all audio consoles.” Sennheiser EW-DX’s can be managed via Control Cockpit so Christopher can oversee, coordinate and troubleshoot wireless operations from his laptop. As Berkeley Prep’s wireless setup spans three black box theaters across the elementary, middle and upper school divisions, a main stage 820 seat theater, a recital space and a brand-new chapel, being able to manage all of these spaces and more from a centralized hub was a key consideration in their wireless audio decision.