New church is first to feature ArrayProcessing
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But Pastor Rev. Stephen Derbyshire and his team were resolutely unbowed by the episode, ultimately raising £9m for a new church to stand on the same site. After several years of work the five-storey building – which includes a large auditorium, office space, children’s facilities and coffee shop – finally opened its doors last summer.
At the heart of the new church is a 1,000 capacity auditorium that will be used to host a wide variety of services and other activities. Its audio system is based around a configuration of d&b loudspeakers devised and installed by SSE Audio Group company Wigwam Acoustics, with input from d&b audiotechnik itself.
Of particular note in this project, explains Oran Burns from the d&b audiotechnik GB Education and Application Support team, was the decision to implement ArrayProcessing. It represents the first time that it has been deployed in an install environment in the UK or Ireland.
“It’s a historic debut project for ArrayProcessing, which offers the opportunity to intensify the clarity and tonal balance of the J-Series, V-Series or Y-Series line array solutions,” says Burns. “ArrayProcessing ensures that every member of the audience benefits from the same impressive quality of sound by enhancing the spectral consistency, with a defined level distribution, to achieve a consistent tonal balance for each listener.”
The fact that ArrayProcessing necessitates a doubling of the number of amplifier channels means that it won’t be within the reach of all install customers, but Wigwam sales manager Phil Goldsworthy – who was instrumental in delivering this project – confirms that at City Gates it has helped to achieve “very even coverage throughout the auditorium. In conjunction with the Y-Series products, it makes it very easy to cope with everything from a single preacher speaking at the front of the room to a full scale gig type event.”
The installation was undertaken over a two-month period in late spring, with commissioning taking place in June.
Providing primary reinforcement are two left/right hangs of three Yi8 and three Yi12 loudspeakers, augmented by two flown Yi-SUBs per side. Power comes from a quartet of 10D four channel amplifiers, which are intended for permanent integration with applications requiring lower SPL levels. The amplifiers’ sophisticated Digital Signal Processing capabilities include comprehensive loudspeaker management, sample rate converters (SRCs), GPIOs and extensive signal monitoring.
Helping to ensure seamless coverage in every area of the auditorium is an array of six Bi6-SUBs. Providing fill for the front, side and under-balcony areas of the auditorium is a grand total of ten 8S loudspeakers.
St Albans based acoustic consultant and sound system designer Jon Raper also contributed to a project that “progressed smoothly and according to expectations,” confirms Goldsworthy. “d&b is a staple of our installation projects, and in all honesty, it was at the top of our priority list from day one. As hoped it has delivered a versatile and powerful system for City Gates as it begins this exciting new chapter.”
Joseph Perry, Worship Pastor at City Gates, confirms that the d&b installation has exceeded the expectations of both clergy and congregation. “The congregation were pretty blown away the minute the first note was played. The coverage to the entire auditorium space is something quite spectacular, and while most wouldn’t know the ins and outs of why, it has certainly been appreciated by our church.”
(Jim Evans)
