NY School Sees AV Equipment Overhaul

An upstate New York public school recently saw a major upgrade to its AV capabilities through a partnership with Ashly Audio and Advance Sound Company. Stissing Mountain Junior/Senior High School of the Pine Plains Central School District in Pine Plains, N.Y., updated its suite of audio amplification and control solutions to serve not just the school’s students and faculty, but the wider community. In the small town of about 2,500, the local junior/high school serves as an educational facility, a community meeting space, and a live performance venue.

“When you have a space that is truly the preeminent meeting and performance hall for a community, your primary concerns need to be that the system works well and is extremely intuitive to control,” said Thomas DePace of Advance Sound Company, which installed the equipment. “What we found in Ashly Audio was a system that confidently checks those boxes and brings with it a ton of flexibility.”

Advance Sound Company integrated the following products into the school space:

  • Ashly NE24.24M with a Protea DSP Audio Matrix Processor providing 12 inputs and 12 outputs
  • Ashly NE24.24M with a Protea DSP Audio Matrix Processor with four inputs and four outputs
  • Ashly NXE1.52 Network Power Amplifier providing two channels, each delivering 1,500 watts at 2 ohms
  • Ashly NXE8004 network amplifier delivering four channels, each providing 800 watts at 2 ohms
  • Ashly NE8800MM network-enabled Protea DSP with eight inputs, eight outputs, and 2 four-channel mic cards

“We’re using that full array of Ashly amplification to power multiple Danley speakers throughout the facility,” explained DePace. “Everything from larger speakers across the main auditorium to monitors and stage fills. The Ashly setup also has a very nice way in which it allows for mixing the system.”

DePace also commented that, for the system’s complexity, the setup remained intuitive and easy-to-use. “We were able to set it up so perfectly that I have no doubt that when the principal or the custodian need to use the system, it will be very easy for them to do so,” he said. “When your customer is a small or medium-sized organization, having that confidence is a huge benefit.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • school building with glowing circuit board patterns

    AI Is Coming to Schools — But Most School Buildings Still Run on Institutional Memory

    As school districts race to introduce AI into classrooms, administration, and curriculum planning, another conversation is happening behind the scenes: How prepared are school facilities themselves for the operational demands AI will create?

  • California Middle School Breaks Ground on Major Renovation Project

    The Hillsborough City School District (HCSD) in Hillsborough, Calif., recently began construction on new multipurpose and administration facilities for Crocker Middle School, according to a news release.

  • New Jersey Day School Opens New Science & Entrepreneurship Building

    Saddle River Day School (SRDS) in Saddle River, N.J., recently celebrated the grand opening of the new Dr. Kristen Walsh Hall of Science & Entrepreneurship, according to a news release. The school partnered with DIG Architecture on the 32,000 square foot facility, completed on a 17-month construction timeline in time for the beginning of the new school year.

  • Designing Third Spaces That Do What AI Can't

    In 2026, education is evolving faster than ever. With AI reshaping everything from lesson planning to personalized instruction, schools and universities are turning their attention to what AI can’t replicate: spaces that foster collaboration, community, and creativity.