The visually stunning, beautifully renovated, interior is highly acoustically reverberant, and the basic problem that parishioners in the 1,200-seat space found eulogies and sermons hard to follow was compounded by the occasional intrusion of a local radio station through the church's sound system.
Ten loudspeakers, two flown over the congregation, eight more arranged along the walls, served the seating area that stretches back in a T shape to 102ft from the altar, varying in width from 92ft to 108ft across and measuring 80ft high, with intervening stone columns - driven from a rack full of equipment that produced, said Richard G. O'Connell, principal of integrators AV DesignBuild, "Thermal noise, hum, buzz, along with the occasional RFI blast, that were audible throughout the church when the system was powered on."
O'Connell proposed a radical solution, the central elements being replacement of the loudspeakers with custom-painted Iconyx IC24 units, an Audix microphone specifically matched to the altar position, close to one of the Iconyx locations, a new mixer and simplified rack, and updated wiring.
"Simplicity," he added, "or, put another way, design elegance, is the new model. My approach is to use the fewest number of parts to accomplish the client's goal. Our clients want to hear audio content - and see video content - and not press buttons. They don't want to see machines, which only detract from content and the beauty of timeless architectural spaces. At Sacred Heart Church, the system delivers clear, intelligible sound to 1,200 parishioners, and the technology is nearly invisible."
The choice of microphone was also crucial, says O'Connell. "The Audix M1255 capsule won the microphone derby," said O'Connell. "We deployed it as a microboom for the chorus, a gooseneck for the pulpit, just 24 inches from one of the Iconyx columns, conference-style for the altar, and a custom configuration for the kneeler." Again, parish representatives approved the choice. "A speaker can be up to three feet from the microphone, and still be heard throughout the church," he added, "a testament to the pattern control of both the loudspeaker and the microphone."
Berini Electric assisted with speaker installation, cable pathways, removal of the existing speaker system, and specified the correct Surgex NEMA enclosure to provide not only surge suppression and power conditioning, but also remote power up from the equipment rack.
The remainder of the new system comprises an APB DynaSonics H10290 mixer, a Tascam CD700 with foot pedal operation from the altar by the celebrant, a Raxxess iPod docking station, a Biamp 412e stereo preamp/mixer as stereo program source selector and level control, and a Biamp Audio Solo programmable automixer with sophisticated EQ filters and a matrix router delivering all sound sources to seven destinations and providing automatic functioning and lowered thermal noise. All existing audio cable was replaced with double-shielded Gepco cable within conduit, which again reduced noise and EMI/RFI interference.
The resulting system is performing well, even under stress conditions such as when the church suffered a power outage during a funeral service and the system was completely restored when power returned with no loss of settings or processor function. O'Connell added, "From the moment the new system was deployed, parishioners have been approaching me and expressing great appreciation." The reason, he says, is simple: "The message is now pre-eminent."
(Jim Evans)
