Plus Audio for Norwegian Settler’s Church
- Details
Recently, Stage Audio Works (SAW) were brought in to implement the finishing touches; handling the integration of the audio aspect of the church, which, in the words of Phillip Kloppers, media and technical director at NSC, really “makes the building work”. SAW used the expertise they’ve acquired across many House of Worship projects to deliver the entire solution over the course of two weeks. Significantly, this was a chance to showcase the capabilities of the company’s new Plus Audio offering, which delivers ‘professional grade audio performance at an affordable price point’.
However, the project was not without its challenges - the team was confronted with an extremely problematic acoustic environment. The main auditorium’s ceiling is 17m high, and the space is large enough to seat almost 1500 attendees and on top of this, there is a large hole in the centre of the room leading to an underground car park, resulting in further sound leakage. In Kloppers’ own words, “We were looking at a reverb time of around 7.5-8 seconds. It was appalling.”
On SAW’s recommendation, NSC brought in Bruce Gessner from acoustic engineering specialists, Acoustic Worx. Gessner devised a comprehensive acoustic treatment for the roof which brough the reverberation time down to a much more manageable 1.5-2 seconds. Kloppers was thrilled with the outcome: “We worked out a phenomenal solution with him. The space was then ready to bring in the PA.”
Based on the NSC’s requirements, SAW specified and integrated a complete Plus Audio solution - the first of its kind in South Africa. It was important for the NSC that their existing equipment was utilised where possible, so SAW provided a solution which incorporated this seamlessly within the new system.
Taking the acoustic environment and architecture of the room into account, SAW opted for a line array solution comprising L/R hangs of eight L209 and two L215B elements per side, supported by eight C10 front-fills. Four iA218 subwoofers concealed in the stage, bring up the low end. Several 12A amplifiers power the arrangement, and a QSC Q-Sys Core 110F acts as the system DSP.
SAW also integrated several dB Technologies’ LVX loudspeakers in the lobby area to ensure coverage of the entire building. “Even before you get into the room we’ve got visuals and audio that is synched with the auditorium and consistent right through,” remarks Kloppers. Control for the additional zones is handled by the Q-Sys core.
