Iconyx solution for North Dakota church
- Details
The old audio system consisted of a single loudspeaker cluster at the front of the nave. Parishioners began complaining about not being able to hear the sermon clearly, and worship services could not be heard at all along the ends of the pews closest to the walls. The high ceilings and reverberant acoustics required a highly targeted audio solution, which Renkus-Heinz loudspeakers are renowned for.
Church staff reached out to Dallas Anderson, system designer at Tricorne Audio, to help design a new sound system capable of directing sound to the congregation and increasing speech intelligibility. Architectural modifications to the church were limited or not permitted due to its historic designation, which greatly reduced the options for the replacement audio system.
“St. James Basilica has amazing architecture but problematic acoustics as a result,” said Anderson. “We calculated nearly four seconds of reverberation in the sanctuary, which is immense. Our only options were to either install acoustical treatments and replace the loudspeaker cluster or install steerable arrays. Acoustic treatments weren’t allowed under the historic designation, so when steerable arrays became the only viable path forward, we immediately turned to Iconyx loudspeakers from Renkus-Heinz."
To improve speech intelligibility and provide even coverage for the entire seating area, a pair of Iconyx IC16-RN steerable arrays were installed in the nave while four CX-62 point source loudspeakers were deployed as fills in the balcony.
The church leadership and congregation were more than happy about the audio improvements. “Renkus-Heinz reviewed our acoustical modelling prior to installation to ensure we had designed a robust audio solution,” said Anderson. “I’ve always been happy with their products’ performance and commitment to customer service.”
