The latest installation, part of a complete multimedia upgrade at the 850-capacity church, was installed by Visual Systems Ireland, and project manager Dennis Melville dipped extensively into the Harman Pro catalogue after being awarded the audio element of the contract. "There's very little on the audio side that isn't a Harman brand," he confirmed.
"We recommended a purpose-designed system, and having had many positive experiences with JBL's Contractor projects at the lower end, we suggested a VRX line array," says Melville.
The church's technical team, led by multimedia co-ordinator, Philip McCallum, backed VSI's judgment, and with assistance from Tom Williams at Sound Technology, the Harman Pro UK distributors, they were able to draw up some suitable designs to suit the parameters of the building. The church also adopted the recommendation for a discreet cluster finished in white, to match the light interior of the sanctuary.
Philip McCallum confirmed, "The priority was to get a good, off-the-shelf system with high SPL, which could also handle a concert-type environment. The JBL system meets all the criteria. Many people have commented on the high sound quality - not just in weekly services but also in the more demanding rock and classical concerts that we hold. Indeed, the New Irish Orchestra were recently playing through the system."
Designed by architect Brian Payne, the room has been reconfigured into three zones to take into account the new elements - the Sanctuary, the Old Balcony and the Multipurpose Hall (New Balcony).
The main, centrally-hung line array is formed from four VRX 932LA's and a single floor-mounted VRX918S sub, backed up by two JBL MS28 dual 6in speakers for in-fill (and four JRX112 stage monitors). The main array is powered by a Crown IT4000, with CDi 850W pro amplifiers assigned to the rest of the system.
In addition to the JBL and Crown components, Leisuretec, also supplied a BSS Audio Soundweb London BLU16 (for DSP) plus a pair of 32-channel Soundcraft LX7ii consoles - one for FOH live mixing and the other as a recording mixer - and a pair of AKG C747's appear at the lectern.
(Jim Evans)
