JBL PROFESSIONAL PRESS RELEASE JBL Professional 8500 Balboa Blvd. Northridge, CA 91329 Phone: 818-894-8850 Fax: 818-830-7865 www.jblpro.com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For more information contact: Phil Moon, JBL Professional 818-830-8711 email: pmoon@harman.com Staci Moore, JBL Professional 818-895-3495 email: smoore@harman.com For text and photo files go to the JBL Press Room at: http://www.jblpro.com/pressroom PD SERIES FROM JBL PROFESSIONAL GAINING RAPID ACCEPTANCE Precision Directivity Loudspeakers Are Installed In Arenas, Stadiums and Large Performance Sites Worldwide LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 5, 2002 - Introduced in the fall of 2001, JBL Professional's new Precision Directivity (PD Series) speaker systems have gained rapid acceptance in the stadium and arena market. In just one year, the PD Series has been installed in major sport facilities across the United States, most recently at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, and Key Arena in Seattle, Washington. Formally opened in September, 2002, Detroit's Ford Field is a world-class domed stadium for the Detroit Lions NFL team. Six large arrays of PD Series Speakers are suspended from the roof. Consultant firm Wrightson, Johnson, Haddon & Williams, Inc. specified PD for its low-weight/high-power capabilities and long throw characteristics. The home of the NBA's Seattle Supersonics, Key Arena in Seattle Center has also adopted PD Series. The PD arrays are positioned around the octagonal main scoreboard. Designed by the Seattle Center's Richard Erwin, the system includes four large full range arrays augmented by four additional smaller arrays of PD700 Series high/mid loudspeakers. Key Arena is the first use of the new low frequency PD135 configuration of FSA forward-steered low frequency array. The University of Maryland's new Comcast Center will be the new home of the Maryland Terrapins basketball team, as well as a site for concerts and other athletic events. The $125 million arena features a combination of PD Series and JBL Custom enclosures, in a sound system designed by Wrightson, Johnson, Haddon & Williams, Inc. "Over the last few years, we gathered input from our customers on what they need for arenas, stadiums, auditoriums and larger performance areas. This was the basis of our work on PD and the new Application Engineered Series Speakers," said Rick Kamlet, Senior Director for Installed Sound at JBL Professional. "With PD, we met our two primary design and innovation goals. First, we wanted to produce a lightweight, compact cabinet with high power and long throw characteristics - these are the PD700 Series. For low frequencies, we wanted to control where the sound went, to steer the low frequencies for greater sound quality and intelligibility, which is provided by the PD 100 Series models." Other PD Series installations include: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minnesota University of Tulsa Stadium, Tulsa, Oklahoma Vanderbilt University Football Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee Vodafone Arena, Melbourne, Australia US Tennis Center, Flushing Meadows, New York Grizzlies Stadium (AAA Baseball), Fresno, California Headquartered in Northridge, California, JBL Professional is the world's leading designer, manufacturer, and marketer of professional loudspeakers for recording and broadcast, musician, cinema, touring sound, commercial sound and contracting applications. JBL Professional is part of the Harman International network of professional and consumer audio companies. For complete product and company information, go to the JBL Pro website at www.jblpro.com. # # #