“Pastor-Friendly Sound Systems (Vol. 2)”

HELPING LEADERS BECOME

B E T T E R S T E WA R D S .

PASTOR-FRIENDLY SOUND SYSTEMS VOL. 2 Presented by: Renkus-Heinz, Inc.

V2

2

CHURCH EXECUTIVE • P A S T O R - F R I E N D LY S O U N D S Y S T E M S V O L . 2

churchexecutive.com

Get the WHOLE Story!

HELPING LEADERS BECOME

B E T T E R S T E WA R D S .

Table of Contents CONSIDER YOUR STYLE

4

An upgraded, more intelligent sound system “steers” Ohio’s Grove City Church — The Naz — in the right direction.

By Daniel Keller

GO WITH A PRO: HOW EXPERT KNOW-HOW BROUGHT CRISP, CLEAN, MODERN SOUND TO AN OLD WORLD SANCTUARY 6 Built in 1914, Five Wounds Portuguese National Church in San Jose, CA, is one of the most photographed, sketched and painted buildings in the area — not only for its Old World-style Catholic architecture, but also for its notable history.

Unfortunately, however, its sound quality was anything but awe-inspiring.

By Daniel Keller

BEAUTIFUL SOUND, NATURALLY

8

The Grotto — a stunning outdoor sanctuary in Portland — is a truly challenging audio environment. First and foremost, church leaders needed awe-inspiring audio to match the sanctuary’s surroundings. But, the system also had to be flexible, reliable, durable … and discrete.

PA S T O R - F R I E N D LY S O U N D S Y S T E M S Presented by:

Here’s how they got everything on their wish list.

Renkus-Heinz, Inc.

By Mike Lethby

Download the Pastor-Friendly Sound Systems: Volume 1 eBook

WHAT’S BEHIND THE CURTAIN?

10

At New Venture Christian Fellowship in Oceanside, Calif., visual impact is standard — and transparent.

At times, the 1,800-seat sanctuary has been transformed into a day at the beach, complete with a “white sand” carpet (courtesy of expertly applied LED house lighting) and the Pacific Ocean roaring in the distance (thanks to some pretty advanced projection technology and know-how from the tech team). The ocean “roars” around you … largely because just the right audio elements are in place.

But, it wasn’t always this immersive of an experience.

By Daniel Keller

ACOUSTICS, A-FRAMES & OTHER AUDIO CHALLENGES

12

Since 1968, St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Rockville, Md. — a suburb of Washington, D.C. — has faithfully served its community.

Until last year, its original sound system had been ‘serving’ just as long.

By Daniel Keller

churchexecutive.com

P A S T O R - F R I E N D LY S O U N D S Y S T E M S V O L . 2 • CHURCH EXECUTIVE

3

SOUND SYSTEMS

CONSIDER

Style

YOUR

By Daniel Keller

An upgraded, more intelligent sound system “steers” Ohio’s Grove City Church — The Naz — in the right direction Grove City Church of the Nazarene — known to congregants and locals as “The Naz” — has built a large and diverse congregation in the Columbus, OH area. It offers a mix of contemporary and classic worship services, as well as hosts many conferences and concerts from national touring Christian artists.

The Naz’s 2,800-seat sanctuary has long struggled with sonic issues, including poor intelligibility and uneven coverage. As Technical Director Matt Groves explains, part of the problem is the space’s wide, cavernous, fan-shaped orientation.

4

CHURCH EXECUTIVE • P A S T O R - F R I E N D LY S O U N D S Y S T E M S V O L . 2

“Because of that, we have extreme angles,” Groves says. “With our previous system, we were basically just ‘praying and spraying’ — putting the cabinets up there and hoping for the best.”

As the church’s sound equipment (which wasn’t ideal to begin with) started to age and need repair, it became clear to Groves and his team that an upgrade was in order. “We were putting money into a system that really wasn’t doing what we needed it to,” he recalls. “So, we had to take a step back and say, ‘OK, let’s put good money after good and reevaluate the system.’”

The evolution of the church’s worship style further dictated this upgrade. “Our church was 51 years old this past July. A few years ago, we decided to transition to an edgier type of worship, while also keeping the classic form for people who prefer that. So now, we run two different types of services — a classic service and a more contemporary one.

While The Naz’s old point-source system was adequate for the classic service, according to Groves, the church needed something more powerful for the contemporary service. “That point-source system basically just provided sound reinforcement,” he says. “So, it was very hard to differentiate voices versus instruments.”

Groves and front-of-house sound engineer Doug McLaughlin undertook the job of researching possible solutions.

“We looked at several major loudspeaker brands and invited several in to do demos for us,” he recalls. “They all sounded fine, but the Renkus-Heinz IC2 really stood out. They demonstrated the beam steering by putting us up in the balcony with the IC2 cabinet on stage. We could hear it just fine.

Then he opens his laptop and says, ‘Watch this,’ and steers the speaker digitally so it’s hitting us directly upstairs. All of a sudden, boom, there it was, with unbelievable clarity. I looked at my front of house engineer and we both said, ‘That’s the one.’ It was the coolest thing.”

The system, installed by Tech Art Production of Columbus, comprises a left-center-right, dead-hung configuration, with three IC2-FR modules in the center flanked by five more on either side. Each full-range IC2-FR module contains four 8-inch speakers and four vertically aligned 1-inch high-frequency drivers. To deliver the bass needed for the church’s powerful contemporary presentation, the arrays are supplemented by six DR18-2R powered subwoofers, hung in two groups of three between the main IC2 arrays. churchexecutive.com

“Across the board, every pastor I’ve ever talked to has told me pretty much the same thing: they want to hear the voices.”

— Matt Groves

“With this system, because of the 120-degree angle of each beam, we can actually steer sound digitally in to certain places in the room,” Groves explains. “So, if we wanted to go 10 degrees up and 5 degrees over, we can tell it to do that. Now, everywhere you sit in the sanctuary, you get good sound. It doesn’t matter if you’re on the far right or up in the balcony or down in the front; it’s all the same.”

Even laymen who know nothing about sound can hear everything very clearly — and they comment on that. “People nowadays are so used to listening to good sound systems in their cars and so on,” Groves says. “So, whenever they walk into a room with an old system — like the one we had — it’s jarring. They think, I don’t know why I’m not hearing what I’m used to hearing, but I know it doesn’t sound good. Now it’s more like, I don’t know why this sounds fantastic — but it sounds fantastic.”

The Word must be heard Like most contemporary houses of worship, musicality and intelligibility were both primary concerns for The Naz in selecting a sound system — full-spectrum fidelity for powerful musical performance and the clarity in spoken word that’s so critical in delivering the message.

Groves says the IC2 system delivers on both counts.

“Across the board, every pastor I’ve ever talked to has told me pretty much the same thing: they want to hear the voices,” Groves explains.

In his experience, this isn’t so critical in a concert setting where, if someone’s voice gets somewhat eclipsed by an electric guitar, it’s not a big deal. In the church world, however, every single word — spoken or sung — is a priority.

“Intelligibility was probably our pastor’s biggest request,” Groves recalls.

“We didn’t really sit down and talk about specific system components.

“The senior pastor is immensely pleased with it,” he adds. “It’s easy to differentiate everything in the mix, the sermon is perfectly clear, and we have plenty of power to get that rock concert feel when we need it. We couldn’t be more pleased with the system.”

Indeed, by all accounts, the difference between the new system’s performance and the old one’s is night and day. “The music sounds amazing, and the spoken word is crystal clear in every seat, even under the balcony,” Groves says. “The IC2’s digital steering enabled us to aim a beam down to hit the front rows and another to cover beneath the balcony. And we have totally eliminated the slap-back echo from sound bouncing off the balcony facing.” churchexecutive.com

Worship style matters The early Sunday service is the classic presentation, with an 80-voice choir, 20-piece orchestra, plus a rhythm section. Thirty minutes after that service ends, the room is reset for the contemporary service, with the choir loft walled off and the stage reconfigured. There is also a hybrid service on Saturday. The system’s advanced RHAON control software can instantly recall multiple configurations for each service’s different demands.

“The contemporary service is a pretty high-octane and an edgier presentation that includes a rhythm section, six vocalists, a whole lot of bass, and is very guitar-driven,” Groves says. “The traditional service needs less bass reinforcement, which we have set up in the RHAON software as a preset. Both sound fantastic from every seat in the house.”

The Renkus-Heinz IC2 has proven to be a perfect fit for the Grove City Church of the Nazarene. “From the first service onward, we’ve gotten nothing but compliments on the system,” says Groves. “The worship team hears great feedback from attendees.”

Moreover, The Naz is host to quite a few national musical acts, including Michael W. Smith and Chris Tomlin. “We’ve had a lot of artists come in and use the system, and they all just love it,” Groves says.

Rik Kirby is Vice President, Sales & Marketing at Renkus-Heinz, Inc. [ www.renkus-heinz.com ]. Located in Southern California for more than 35 years, Renkus-Heinz is a manufacturer of high-end professional loudspeaker systems.

Daniel Keller is CEO of Get It In Writing, Inc.® [ www.getitinwriting.net ].

P A S T O R - F R I E N D LY S O U N D S Y S T E M S V O L . 2 • CHURCH EXECUTIVE

5

SOUND

SYSTEMS

Go with a pro How expert know-how brought crisp, clean, modern sound to an Old World sanctuary

By Daniel Keller

Built in 1914, Five Wounds Portuguese National Church in San Jose, CA, is one of the most photographed, sketched and painted buildings in the area — not only for its Old World-style Catholic architecture, but also for its notable history.

In 1915, the Panama-Pacific Exposition (the precursor to the World’s Fair) was held in San Francisco. The city was rebuilding after the 1906 earthquake, and it was hoped this massive event would bring commerce to the area. The Portuguese Pavilion was built for the Expo.

After the fair was over, the pavilion was slated for demolition. A Portuguese priest of some repute in the burgeoning San Jose valley purchased it for a song. He shipped most of it — piece by piece — to its San Jose location, where it stands today. Much of the original wood and ornate decor remain.

Thus, Five Wounds Portuguese National Church was founded. For a century, it has exuded Iberian charm and grace.

Unfortunately, however, its sound quality was anything but awe-inspiring.

A beautiful (but challenging) audio environment The church’s age made upgrading its audio components extremely difficult. “It took three guys a full day just to run wire to the loft,” recalls Joe Orlando of Atwater, CA-based systems designer and integrator Commercial Media Systems. “The building’s original electrical wiring — installed underneath the floorboards — caused nightmarish grounding noise.

“And then there were the acoustics,” he adds.

These proved especially problematic during the church’s traditional Latin Mass, which is delivered by priests for whom English is a second language. Intelligibility was a persistent issue.

It also created problems during weddings — something the church 6

CHURCH EXECUTIVE • P A S T O R - F R I E N D LY S O U N D S Y S T E M S V O L . 2

Find out how expert help fixed the acoustical and intelligibility challenges at Five Wounds Church in San Jose, CA — about to celebrate its 100th year. View the video at http://bit.ly/1Uz6Idd.

sees a lot of. Amazingly, Five Wounds often hosts as many as three nuptials on a Saturday!

“The presiders were not totally intelligible,” recalls lifelong parishioner David Viera. “We’d been living with a sound system that was kludged together over a period of 10 or 15 years.”

The church’s physical shape — with high, arched ceilings — didn’t help matters, either. Additionally, the sanctuary has a transept, denoting the lateral areas of the cruciform (cross-shaped) building design. While lovely and symbolic, this classic design feature creates myriad reflections and echoes, further exacerbating intelligibility in this worship space.

Despite its heavenly appearance, Orlando says the church was “the sort of space that gives system designers nightmares.” Particularly challenging for him and his team was the antiquated distributed sound system, which used multiple loudspeakers situated across the entire audience area, operating at lower levels than a central source type system. This added to the cacophony, introducing multiple timing issues and other problems.

“The old sound system was actually a collection of two systems,” he explains. “They just added speakers right underneath the old speakers.”

Fixing the root problem Orlando called on Rocky Giannetta, president of Roseville, CA-based Layer 8 Inc. Giannetta is an expert in acoustical measurement, system tuning, and room modeling and analysis. He demonstrated for the church a passive column — one that isn’t amplified, nor is digitally steerable — and a Renkus-Heinz Iconyx IC16-RN, which is part of the next-generation Iconyx Gen5 Series. He says it offered the most control and flexibility. churchexecutive.com

Gianetta documented reverb times as long as three to four seconds at the back of the room — the kind of conditions that could be best addressed with steerable-beam loudspeakers. For comparison’s sake, the typical auditorium has a reverb time of less than 1 second. Reverb time in a small classroom or meeting room is typically milliseconds. And, only the most massive cathedrals have reverb times in the five- to seven-seconds range.

Meanwhile, Orlando says, “We couldn’t hold a conversation with each other standing six feet apart.”

To remedy the situation, Orlando flew a single Renkus-Heinz IC2416-RN digitally steerable column array on house left to serve as the main house loudspeaker.

“Less is more in such a reverberant room,” he observes. “With two sources, you can have multiple arrival times and reflection issues from the transepts. The IC24-16-RN can give you up to eight separate beams, so you can do quite a lot with just one column.”

The IC24-16-RN is part of the new Iconyx Gen5 loudspeaker series, the very latest in the evolution of beam-steering technology. Iconyx Gen5 integrates the power of advanced beam-steering algorithms with the intuitive control of the newly redesigned RHAON II system designer software, which offers faster rendering (processing) and greater precision.

The IC24-16-RN was mounted on a 12x12-inch wooden column with a gap between the inner column and the outer plastered wood. Partially, this was an effort to ensure the equipment “blends in” with the historic church’s design, but more because of the nature of the building’s construction.

Mounting anything — let alone a heavy loudspeaker column — to the 100-year-old lathe and plaster walls was tough. “We ran wires between the big wooden column and the plaster,” Orlando explains. “It was strong old wood, but drilling and doing the wiring right were challenging.”

A close-up of the passive column and Renkus-Heinz Iconyx IC16-RN loudspeaker setup at Five Wounds, and ...

... the space that’s being covered, sound-wise, with that this one column (see above). churchexecutive.com

On house right, directly across from the IC24-16-RN, a smaller IC8-RN steered array covers an area that needed a small amount of front fill. A CFX41 four-inch coaxial two-way loudspeaker provides monitoring for the main priest’s chair.

The church has a preacher’s “crow’s nest” with a spiral staircase; below this staircase, Orlando secreted a Renkus-Heinz CFX12S 12-inch highperformance subwoofer, which delivers powerful sub-bass from 40 to 120 Hz. “The subwoofer is hidden from view behind a cloth scrim,” he points out. “It’s only used for music needing the lower octave, in order to not excite the room where it’s not warranted.”

By “excite the room,” Orlando is referring to any time a sound wave hits a hard surface, which causes it to reflect back and create an echo. Multiple echoes reduce intelligibility. The Iconyx enables him to point the sound — almost like an audio “spotlight” — and focus it on areas where the audience is sitting, away from the walls, windows, ceiling and so on.

The non-powered CFX41 and CFX12S are driven with Labgruppen amplifiers. For microphone mixing, system management and touch control, Orlando chose an Atlas Sound BlueBridge DSP digital signal processor. The system was commissioned by Gianetta . Orlando designed it and — with the help of a crew — installed it.

Iconyx Gen5 loudspeakers are tuned with Renkus-Heinz’ new RHAON II software. “I like the original RHAON , but the rendering in the new version is so much faster,” Orlando enthuses. “You can just snap your fingers, and it’s rendered. I was really, really, really pleased!”

Clearly, Orlando is a believer in Gen5. “I’ve done a lot of installs for the Catholic Church with Iconyx,” he notes. These structures — at least older ones — tend to be designed as very acoustically live, with high roofs — often domed — as well as large windows, wooden floors and seating.

Originally, this was to enhance the sound of the pipe organ and choir; but, these same acoustics can be problematic for spoken word intelligibility.

This is why beam steering has been such a tremendous boon for these types of environments, as well as for other cacaphonous environments such as train stations, airports, natatoriums and more.

“This was one of the first Gen5 installs anywhere, and the new series is the best yet,” Orlando says. “We could specify the size and configuration we needed and still hit our budget.

“Most important,” he adds, “the Iconyx Gen5 system sounds great in the space, and the client is very happy.”

David Viera is among the pleased. He recalls a 50-year parishioner who returned to Mass after several months away. “She said she was blown away by the quality of the sound and the fact that she could hear everything the presider was saying,” Viera says. “We were able to do it right, finally.”

Daniel Keller is CEO of Get It In Writing, Inc.® [ www.getitinwriting.net ].

P A S T O R - F R I E N D LY S O U N D S Y S T E M S V O L . 2 • CHURCH EXECUTIVE

7

SOUND SYSTEMS

Beautiful sound,

naturally

The Grotto — a stunning outdoor sanctuary in Portland — is a truly challenging audio environment. First and foremost, church leaders needed awe-inspiring audio to match the sanctuary’s surroundings. But, the system also had to be flexible, reliable, durable … and discrete.

Here’s how they got everything on their wish list.

By Mike Lethby

Known as “The Grotto” since its founding in 1924, The National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother in Portland, OR, is a rare “place of solitude, peach and prayer” in a bustling city. For nearly 100 years, this beloved Catholic Shrine and botanical garden — spanning an amazing 62 acres — has served as a source of spiritual respite for worshipers and visitors alike.

What makes it so unique is its conception and design as an outdoor cathedral; it marries religious significance with natural scenic beauty — dramatic rock formations, towering fir trees and lush gardens. Our Lady’s Grotto, the central attraction, was carved from solid basalt in the cliff wall in 1925. Above its natural rock altar is a white marble replica of Michelangelo’s Pieta.

With more than 100 religious sculptures and two glorious chapels, it’s no wonder that The Grotto draws more than 200,000 visitors per year, representing all faiths and countries. It’s one of the most beautiful Marian sanctuaries in North America, and perhaps the world.

A place of light and sound, The Grotto is home to the annual Festival of Lights during the Christmas season, and more than 140 choirs throughout the year.

Wait … doesn’t it rain a lot there?

It does. In this sense, the Pacific Northwest’s reputation is well warranted. However, the months of May through October bring very little precipitation — and, not surprisingly, this is when The Grotto (for which the entire property is named) “comes into its own. It’s difficult to envision a lovelier site for Sunday Mass, a wedding or other religious celebration … and there are many, here, during those months.

But, it’s not all sunshine and roses; although gorgeous, The Grotto is a challenging environment in which to run a live sound system. The winter brings heavy rain and occasional freezing temperatures. And, the seating area slopes down and away from the actual grotto and the altar in front of it, making it difficult to ensure sound coverage.

And of course, the Friars are not experts in modern audio technology.

Even so, their audio requirements can range from simple background music to elaborate services combining singers, musicians and the spoken word.

Fortunately, they and the staff can call upon the expertise of Design Sound Northwest (DSN), a local AV systems design and integration firm

8

CHURCH EXECUTIVE • P A S T O R - F R I E N D LY S O U N D S Y S T E M S V O L . 2

churchexecutive.com

headed up by Craig Leppert, principal. Leppert was instrumental during The Grotto’s most recent construction phase, an endeavor which included a remodel of the outdoor worship space.

For this unique — and unusually challenging — audio environment, Leppert had the foresight to install extra conduits under the concrete and asphalt. These conduits run from the altar area in front of The Grotto to a small building that houses much of the electrical and audio infrastructure.

By design, smartly, these elements are protected from the elements.

Ease of use was another priority for Leppert and the client. To create a simple, yet flexible, interface — one that’s easy to understand — he linked a wireless AMX NetLinx control panel with a Biamp AudiaFlex digital signal processor.

Hailing back to the need for flexibility, Leppert was able to set up three operating modes: Daily (read: low-level background music), Small Group, and Large Events. Each is selected, as needed, from the AMX panel.

Normally, it sits on a desk inside the control room; however, Leppert and his team also installed a high-gain directional antenna so that musicians can take the panel outdoors to control input levels.

“We gave the end users a very basic, limited set of options,” he explains.

“We programmed presets into the Audia with individual level and EQ settings for every channel, for quick and easy setup. The wireless AMX panel allows simple adjustments to be made on the fly, from any location, so the musicians are in control of their performance.”

For small services, the “Small Group” preset gives users access to four wireless microphones and allows them to control the CD player.

For the Large Events preset, DSN pulled a multicore snake through one of those spare conduits: it is terminated with a 60-pin LK disconnect in a waterproof box near the musician’s staging area. To set up for a large service, the staff simply picks the right preset and connects the remote mic snake, instantly giving them 16 wired mic channels, foldback monitors, four wireless mics and CD / Tape playback.

By design, the celebrants are well served by this system …

But what about the worshippers?

With thoughtful design, Leppert has them covered, too. One of DSN’s key objectives was to provide quality sound to an extremely wide, downward-sloping seating area (with the added challenge of residential neighbors across the street from the rear), all without compromising The Grotto’s unique fusion of natural and manmade beauty.

“We tried lots of different ideas,” he recalls. “My first thought was to hide some big directional speakers up in the trees, but there were too many practical issues.”

Indeed: Though portable speakers could do the job, as Leppert explains, there is no way to (a) fill the hole in the middle of the seating area, or (b) keep the sound from shooting over listeners’ heads. Not to mention portable speakers require a labor-intensive setup.

Plan B wasn’t a great fit, either: hanging compact loudspeakers from the arms of The Grotto’s light poles — as Leppert calls it, “the Disneyland approach.” The problem with this scenario was the large visual footprint.

Avoiding this was very important to the client, particularly Executive Director Father Jack Topper.

So, Leppert and his team considered a third option. A digitally steered column could mount flush to the light pole, becoming almost invisible — or could it? Not so much, as Leppert and his team found out.

Even though the speakers could be removed and stored inside during the winter, they still needed protection from the unpredictable Portland weather in the other months.

“The first major manufacturer we considered told us we would need a separate fiberglass enclosure around the loudspeaker,” Leppert recalls.

“That would have been too bulky and clumsy-looking.” Neither of those distractions would pass muster with Father Jack and the other leaders at The Grotto, who prioritize aesthetics.

churchexecutive.com

Even so, DSN built a fullsize mockup in the shop so The Grotto staff could assess the visual impact. “After having it mounted on the light pole only one day, Father Jack and the staff rejected it,” Leppert recalls. “They said it would be too intrusive.”

Another year passes without the perfect solution During that time, the Grotto made do with a portable system.

Then, Renkus-Heinz announced its Iconyx series of digitally steered arrays.

Importantly for the aestheticsfocused church staff, the modular Iconyx arrays could be made weather-resistant without expanding the aluminum enclosures. So, they weren’t bulky.

What’s more, each Iconyx module had an eight-channel, DSP-driven amplifier inside to accomplish the array steering.

For reliability, AC power was supplied via Furman power conditioners, with ground fault interruptors in line, just in case excessive moisture does appear in the electronics compartment.

Renkus-Heinz also brought years of color-matching experience to the table. As such, they were able to exactly match the existing light pole color.

Still, a dummy installation was still a pre-requisite for final approval.

“We mounted a dummy enclosure on the pole for over a week,” Leppert says. “Father Jack told me that he walked right past that pole numerous times without noticing it.”

Although the client was satisfied, Leppert and his team spent a few more months researching and developing specialized stainless steel mounts with built-in security features and UDP inserts that fit the light poles tightly without marring the paint. The mounts are tamper-proof, but also so simple that grounds staff can remove the Iconyx enclosures in only 15 minutes for winter storage, and then re-install them just as easily once the rains take a break.

Next up: troubling acoustics With the visual and mounting hurdles surmounted (beautifully), DSN turned to the acoustic problem at The Grotto. To optimize the coverage, Leppert and his team conducted a basic Enhanced Acoustic Simulator for Engineers (EASE) model.

“The wide, 140-degree horizontal pattern works well in this application, even though the two light poles are very far apart,” he explains. “With the digital steering, we can mount the arrays flush on the poles, yet aim the sound downward so it covers the seating area well without annoying the neighbors.”

Clearly, attention to detail is a guiding principle for Leppert and his team at DSN. Their thoughtful approach to delivering naturally beautiful sound at The Grotto — including the incorporation of aesthetically pleasing, yet durable and effective loudspeakers — is one of the main reasons he and his crew enjoy a long-standing relationship with leaders at this iconic outdoor sanctuary, as well as many other corporations, religious and educational institutions in the Northwest & Alaska.

Naturally beautiful sound: achieved.

Mike Lethby is director of ML Media Ltd. This article was prepared on behalf of Renkus-Heinz, Inc. [ www.renkus-heinz.com ]. Located in Southern California for more than 35 years, Renkus-Heinz is a manufacturer of high-end professional loudspeaker systems.

P A S T O R - F R I E N D LY S O U N D S Y S T E M S V O L . 2 • CHURCH EXECUTIVE

9

SOUND SYSTEMS

What’s behind the

curtain?

A

By Daniel Keller

At New Venture Christian Fellowship in Oceanside, CA, visual impact is standard — and transparent.

10

CHURCH EXECUTIVE • P A S T O R - F R I E N D LY S O U N D S Y S T E M S V O L . 2

t times, the 1,800-seat sanctuary has been transformed into a day at the beach, complete with a “white sand” carpet (courtesy of expertly applied LED house lighting) and the Pacific Ocean roaring in the distance (thanks to some pretty advanced projection technology and know-how from the tech team). The ocean “roars” around you … largely because just the right audio elements are in place.

But, it wasn’t always such an immersive experience.

Rick Boring — Senior Systems Consultant for Olympia, WA-based CCI Solutions (the firm which oversaw the extensive audio/video/lighting renovation of church’s 1,800-seat sanctuary in 2013) — recalls a different time. Much of the circa-1994 audio, video and lighting equipment had reached the end of its useful life. Projectors died, mid-service. Lights went out unexpectedly.

So, when Boring and his team were enlisted, they focused on helping church leaders deliver a more stimulating, high-tech, contemporary worship experience — with systems far more complex than a more traditional house of worship — as well as the selection of audio, video and lighting components that would stand the test of time. And, to ensure things ran smoothly, Boring and his team prioritized seamless connectivity between these systems.

For example, the seamless networked audio elements (including speakers) could not interfere with the sanctuary’s new video screens and theatrical lighting. This objective didn’t allow sufficient height to hang a line array speaker setup. In other words, the speakers could not be assembled in a straight vertical line and angled — either physically or via beam-steering — so that each box covers a section of successive rows. churchexecutive.com

“No matter where we tried to hide a line array, we [would] be blocking sightlines to the screen for somebody,” Boring explains. Instead, he and his team installed four Renkus-Heinz ST9-94R three-way self-powered speakers, with built-in amplifiers to facilitate fewer wires, less heat and better sound. He and his team arranged the speakers in an “exploded cluster” — a very widely arrayed horizontal array — and added five delayed ST7M-94R mid/high self-powered speakers. These were placed further back in the audience, and time-delayed to match the sound of the main speakers.

“With [these] speakers, when you’re in the pattern, it’s very consistent,” Boring explains. “The pattern drop-off is very accurate, and we’re only putting sound where it’s needed.”

To put this in perspective, consider light as an analogy. The coverage pattern of these speakers is very tightly focused and defined — step outside the “spotlight,” and you hear almost nothing. Why this is important? Because keeping sound focused on the audience — and preventing it from hitting (and reflecting off of) walls, windows and other hard surfaces — reduces reverberation, the enemy of intelligibility.

The subwoofers posed another challenge. Boring didn’t want to ground stack the subs on each side of the stage, which would result in excessive low frequency buildup for the performers onstage — a very uncomfortable environment at best.

Instead, Boring opted for a cardioid sub array, with four DR18-2R 115V self-powered dual 18-inch subs hanging over the stage firing toward the congregation, and another two dual 18-inch subs firing backward toward churchexecutive.com

the stage. This subcardioid configuration creates a “null” zone, reducing bass buildup onstage while providing more than enough low end for the congregation. “It created a great pattern with rejection on the stage and super-consistent low-end across the congregation,” he points out.

Focusing on the message, not the methods The worship style at New Venture Christian Fellowship is visually oriented, to put it mildly. Pastor Shawn Mitchell uses lots of sermon illustrations and visual aids — even some living, breathing ones! — to help the message come alive on Sunday.

When the visual worship experience is this important, transparency — and discretion — surrounding the technology driving that experience is critical. This, in effect, was Boring’s mantra when overhauling the space’s audio, video and lighting systems.

When Boring discussed this same project with Sound & Communications Magazine in 2013, he explained it like this: “When we do installations, I want the improved sound, video and lighting to help people enter into great worship, but don’t want them to necessarily concisely attribute the difference to an improved sound and video system. I want it to be transparent.

“This is how technology in a house of worship should be: largely transparent,” he added. “People will notice the end effects of the technology, but not how the effects were achieved.”

Daniel Keller is CEO of Get It In Writing, Inc.® P A S T O R - F R I E N D LY S O U N D S Y S T E M S V O L . 2 • CHURCH EXECUTIVE

11

SOUND

SYSTEMS

Acoustics, A-frames & other audio challenges Since 1968, St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Rockville, Md. — a suburb of Washington, D.C. — has faithfully served its community.

Until last year, its original sound system had been ‘serving’ just as long.

By Daniel Keller

12

CHURCH EXECUTIVE • P A S T O R - F R I E N D LY S O U N D S Y S T E M S V O L . 2

Jeremy Rusnock Photography

When the church decided to replace this antiquated system, the most clear, present (and unalterable) challenge was the church’s unique A-frame architecture. According to the University of Minnesota’s Institute for Advanced Study, this type of structure was popular among post-WWII-era churches — especially those in suburbs — for a reason: While obviously churches, they “signaled a contemporary spirit.”

A New Republic article affirms this, adding: “The architect Henry Kamphoefner described it enthusiastically: ‘The whole auditorium becomes the spire … This daring concept puts the steeple under the roof, and gives the whole structure a symbolic upward reaching.’”

This desired effect was achieved at stunning St. Patrick’s. Worshipers enjoy 35-foot-high ceilings, a center altar area, an abundance of windows, and handsome wooden pews. The pipe organ and choir haven always sounded majestic, thanks to reverberance. Indeed, the fellowship potential was (and is) fantastic in this space.

But, these same structural elements and reverberance create a veritable “reverb-a-thon” — an echo which, prior to the new system, severely diminished speech intelligibility. Although the music sounded great, almost no one could understand a word the pastor was saying.

Back to the drawing board!

Gene Ingham represents systems integrator RCI Systems. Last year, his company was behind the design-build of the church’s new system.

Ingham confirms the original sound system didn’t project far enough. “So, it was like a cloud of sound coming out of the sky, lacking clarity and intelligibility.” churchexecutive.com

He and his team specified a pair of Renkus-Heinz Iconyx IC16-RN digitally steered arrays for the sanctuary, marking the first installation of Renkus-Heinz Iconyx Gen5, the fifth generation of the company’s acclaimed Iconyx steered beam technology. Gen5 versions of Iconyx were set up and controlled via RHAON II System Designer, the company’s latest version of their highly acclaimed software control and beam steering application. This professional software enables the installer to point the beam up or down, tighten or widen the focus, and more. Once it’s configured, it’s locked down.

With the sanctuary’s high ceilings and transept, installation and tuning could have been tricky. Transepts are a challenge in their own right; echoes and late reflections — which occur as sound bounces into, around, and back out of a right-angled corridor — wreak havoc with intelligibility.

(Stated another way: Imagine trying to listen to several different versions of the same speech, all within fractions of a second of each other, and all coming from different directions. It’s essentially a cacophony.)

For this challenging space, Ingham used two beams for each loudspeaker to cover the room; this solved the issue with relative ease. “The beam coverage was so wide that I only had to put two IC16-RNs in,” he says. “And it still covers the main room and at least half of the transept.”

This was a pivot from his original plan of putting the loudspeakers close to the audience, he points out. “When we looked at the modeling, we found that if we could place the loudspeakers to the left and right of the altar, about nine feet up, we could shoot over everything and still get plenty of sound in the back.”

He credits the new RHAON II software with making it easy for him and his team to get all the elements to come together, quickly. “And with the IC16-RN’s low-profile design, half the people don’t even know the speakers are there,” he says.

This discrete design was extremely important for St. Patrick’s — and for so many churches. From the architect to the pastor, most house-of-worship churchexecutive.com

clients want sound systems to be heard, not seen. That’s one reason the RH Iconyx speakers are popular in churches: they’re super low-profile.

Also, Renkus-Heinz offers paint-matching. As a result, worshipers often don’t even know the speakers are there.

A brand-new experience in a well-known space Ingham and his team finished ahead of schedule. But the bottom line, of course, is sound quality and intelligibility. Mission: accomplished.

“The best part is the direct field; when you’re anywhere in the main body of the church, the coverage at every seat is the same,” Ingham says. “I attended a service, and whether the vicar used a handheld wireless mic or a gooseneck mic or the altar mic, his tone sounded the same through the Iconyx speakers. It was a pleasure to hear.”

Others also noticed the difference. “While we were tuning the system, a parishioner remarked, ‘I’ve never heard it sound this clear back here before,’” Ingham says.

Daniel Keller is CEO of Get It In Writing, Inc.® [ www.getitinwriting.net ] P A S T O R - F R I E N D LY S O U N D S Y S T E M S V O L . 2 • CHURCH EXECUTIVE

13