Line-Array Speaker amplifies learning for veterinary students at Azabu University
Sony’s SLS-1A Line-Array Speaker system and bright, reliable laser projectors ensure an enhanced audiovisual experience in university lecture halls and teaching classrooms.
- The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine needed to update the AV facilities in its main lecture hall and classrooms
- It required high-quality audio reinforcement and clear projection of lecture materials
- SLS-1A Powered Line-Array Speaker System
- VPH-FHZ85 and VPL-PHZ61 Laser Projectors
- 55-inch BRAVIA BZ30J Professional Displays
- Crisp, precise audio that’s clearly heard by every student
- Projection of high-quality images, revealing extra detail to students
- Quick, easy setup saves time for busy teaching staff
It was as if the clear and easy-to-hear sound was coming from within the display screen. We also liked the speaker’s simple, stylish design.
Mr. Yamaguchi, Section Manager
Creating a high-quality learning environment
Celebrating its 135th anniversary in 2025, Azabu University in the Japanese city of Sagamihara offers education and conducts research with the goal of harmonious coexistence between “Mankind, Animals and the Environment.” The School of Veterinary Medicine at Azabu University offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate program in veterinary science, animal husbandry, animal science and biotechnology.
In recent years, aging AV equipment in the faculty’s lecture halls and teaching rooms was becoming increasingly unreliable. In parallel, the higher educational landscape has become progressively more IT-centric, with greater PC usage by students and staff and the rise of remote teaching following the global pandemic.
“Against this backdrop, we decided to take advantage of these issues and changes in the environment to update the AV equipment in our main lecture halls,” notes Mr. Y. Yamaguchi [Section Manager]. “We’d had many requests to improve the quality of the equipment, especially speakers and projectors installed in lecture rooms. So we began our selection of new equipment with great care.”
Updates to Buildings 8 and 9 on the university campus include the faculty’s large lecture hall with a capacity of up to 240 people, where high-quality acoustics and projection facilities were particularly needed. Mr T. Tominaga [Chief] describes the rooms as the “public face” of Azabu University: “The buildings can be seen by people outside the university and the local community – and they’re also used for private and national examinations.”
Clear sound for students in every seat
While selecting equipment for the AV upgrade, the university’s attention was drawn to Sony’s SLS‑1A Powered Line-Array Speaker. “Compared with the speakers we’d been using previously, there was no difference in the way the SLS-1A sounded no matter which seat you were sitting in in the large lecture hall,” confirms Mr. Yamaguchi. “It was as if the clear and easy-to-hear sound was coming from within the display screen. We also liked the speaker’s simple, stylish design.”
SLS-1A Powered Line-Array Speakers have been installed to the left and right sides of the screen/blackboard in the main lecture hall and other teaching rooms, where their slim and discreet styling blends unobtrusively into the space. The speakers’ rich, powerful sound can be finely controlled by a PC application, ensusing that lecturers’ words are heard clearly by every student in the 240-seat auditorium. In addition to the speaker’s uniform acoustics, Mr Tominaga was attracted to the simple installation requirements of the SLS-1A. “With speakers installed on the ceiling in the past, it took time and effort to investigate problems with the wiring. Replacement with a Line-Array Speaker makes the wiring easier to understand and maintenance more efficient.”
Greater visual detail and immersion
“While carrying out the renewal work, we wanted to focus not only on the sound but also on the realism of the video presentation equipment as students returned to lectures after the pandemic,” says Mr. Tominaga. “What’s more, some of the equipment we’d been using previously was difficult to understand, which sometimes caused inconvenience to students, faculty members, and support staff, so we selected the system based on the concept of introducing a system that is easy for everyone to use and understand. We were attracted to the high-definition image quality and operability of Sony’s VPL-FHZ85 and VPL-PHZ61 data projectors.”
Following the Sony projector upgrade, Mr. Tominaga recalls members of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine being able to see details in projected images of a veterinary X-ray that wouldn’t have been clearly visible with conventional projectors. Complementing the laser projectors, visual presentation capabilities have been upgraded further with the installation of a total of 38 55-inch BRAVIA BZ30J 4K Professional Displays in lecture halls and teaching rooms.
Easier operability for teaching staff
Mr. Yamaguchi anticipates that by unifying operating procedures in all of the main lecture halls, faculty staff can reduce the time and effort spent preparing for classes, allowing them to devote more time to dealing with students. Similarly, Mr. Tominaga is now looking forward to further upgrades to the faculty’s AV infrastructure: “So far, we’ve updated equipment in the building where the main lecture hall is located, but we plan similar updates in other buildings in the future. I hope that Sony will continue to support us with further proposals that respond to the trends of the times.”
