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A Customer Story: SUMMIT Computer & Technologies Improves the Weight Room Sound System at Cascade High School Gym

by Sofia Rajah

Background

When Cascade High School in Turner, Oregon, built a new weight room, they needed a school gym sound system that could match the space, support daily use, and stay simple for staff and students to operate. To make that happen, the principal, athletic director, and a few coaches partnered with Christopher Orin at SUMMIT Computer & Technologies, LLC. 

Christopher brings decades of hands-on technical experience to every project. After serving in the U.S. Navy as a Data Systems Engineer supporting mission-critical systems during Desert Shield and Desert Storm, he went on to work as a Network Engineer for organizations including West Coast Bank, Microsoft, IKON Office Solutions, and Salem Hospital. Since founding SUMMIT in 2014, the company has grown from computer repair and consulting into a full-service provider of residential and commercial audio/video, security, and technology solutions.

For this project, the school needed a reliable sound system that could deliver clear sound throughout the weight room, withstand accidental damage, and fit neatly into a modern training environment. That meant choosing a solution that would work with the space's structure rather than against it.

After reviewing multiple vendors and evaluating several equipment options, Chris found that Pure Resonance Audio's level of communication and support stood out. As he put it, "[it] wasn’t a hard decision on who was going to get our business."

The Challenge

The high school weight room’s previous setup was a boom box connected to two wall-mounted home speakers. While that may have worked in a smaller or less demanding space, it was not meeting their needs.

The new weight room introduced several challenges. The ceiling was sloped at roughly 25 to 30 degrees, and the exposed rafters and steel girders meant a typical speaker system wouldn’t deliver optimum sound quality. On top of that, the school wanted the speakers to stay non-intrusive, protected, and out of the way while still giving teachers, instructors, and students easy access to music and microphone functionality.

SUMMIT also had to balance performance, practicality, and budget. The weight room sound system needed to be simple to operate, support radio and Bluetooth connectivity, work with wireless microphones, maintain a space-saving, professional installation, and grow with them. 

The Solution

To address these challenges, SUMMIT designed a high school gym sound system featuring 6.5" pendant speakers and a rack-mount mixer amplifier. This approach made sense for the space because it worked with the ceiling slope and allowed the audio to project more evenly from above rather than being blocked by the room’s structural elements.

The pendant speaker’s heavy-duty construction and modern design also helped keep the system visually clean and physically protected. Paired with a rack-mount mixer amplifier with Bluetooth audio streaming, the result was a practical, cost-effective setup that gave staff and students flexible control over music and other audio sources.

Just as important, Christopher shared that the Pure Resonance Audio staff were “very professional, and their communication is first-class”, especially during a tight installation window with multiple trades working on-site at the same time. 

Equipment Used

Installation & Setup

The installation was executed with a focus on efficiency and organization, ensuring the sound system integrated cleanly into the school gym without adding unnecessary complexity.

By centralizing the equipment into a protected, out-of-the-way rack-mounted setup, the staff gained a single, uncomplicated point of control. This strategic consolidation also minimized visible cabling, ensuring a clean and professional appearance throughout the room.

Despite a tight timeline and coordination with other trades on-site the same week, the system was installed smoothly and was ready for immediate use.

Results

The new weight room speaker system delivered the kind of improvement the high school had been looking for: better coverage, clearer music and voice reproduction, and easier day-to-day operation.

Christopher shared, “Some of the benefits I have seen and heard from myself and the school district are the ease of use, the quality of the audio, safety features, and how really simple it is to operate. They just love the system.” He also described the installed equipment as “highly professional, stylish, and robust”, with the potential to serve the school well for years to come.

For Cascade High School, the project delivered more than a simple upgrade. It resulted in a better-matched and smarter sound system for the school gym, fully supporting the way the space is used daily.

Key Takeaways

This project shows how the right sound system starts with understanding the environment and needs, not just the equipment. In a room with a sloped ceiling, exposed structure, and daily student use, a thoughtful overhead speaker design and simple control system made all the difference.

It also shows the value of choosing products built for real-world applications. With the right mix of coverage, reliability, and ease of use, this sound system gave Cascade High School’s gym a solution that feels clean, capable, and ready for long-term performance.

Planning a weight room speaker system or upgrading an existing sound system for your school gym? To learn more about the equipment used in this project, or to have our team design a solution tailored to your space, goals, and daily needs, please contact us.

 

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