Friday, July 18, 2014

Good Church Sound System Design Gets The Message Across Clearly

By Marylou Forbes


Most congregations meet in buildings ranging from cathedral-inspired traditional houses of worship, to small re-purposed store-fronts in malls. Although a congregation is more than the location where it assembles, the acoustics of those rooms determine whether worshipers enjoy and understand both message and music. Excellent church sound system design ensures that listeners will be involved and interested, rather than simply trying to hear.

Most people today have been in spaces with unpleasant amplification issues, and are aware that simply throwing a lot of money at a poor setup may indeed resolve some issues, but can actually end up creating others. Volume may become normal in some parts of a hall, but horrendously loud a few feet away. People using microphones may be loud enough, but impossible to understand. The pulpit speaker might seem disembodied or distorted.

In some congregations, the addition of acoustic panels or thick carpet may eliminate echo entirely, while others fight heavy reverberation. People sitting in the front pews may hear the speaker adequately, but those a few rows back may miss most sentences. Inadequate microphones often provide good spoken vocal clarity, but cannot begin to handle the demands of amplified bass, drums or keyboards.

Members may try to correct those problems themselves, but fine tuning a room or equipment to a achieve the necessary balance for good live reproduction may require professional acoustic analysis. Although most congregations have limited budgets, equipment costs are only one factor in choosing and developing a new audio setup. In some cases, simply spending a great deal on speakers or microphones is not cost-effective.

An experienced consultant begins an analysis by critically listening with both electronic devices and well-trained human ears. Most analysts employ specialized audio software designed to accurately outline the acoustical shape of a room, along with the problem areas where sound will either echo or disappear. This process helps to achieve a comfortable dynamic listening range for every single seat in the pews.

Many rooms require more than one speaker, and that can create regions where there are acoustic hot or cold spots. When properly balanced and timed, those spaces are eliminated, providing clean signals to every single location. Calibration may be difficult to achieve without the proper equipment, but an experienced consulting and installation firm takes the guesswork out of optimization.

Both music and spoken words are vital to church services, and a system must be able to handle both at the same time. Certain microphones are fine for vocal reproduction, but not for the combo that accompanies the singers, and can create a wall of distorted noise rather than amplifying an inspiring anthem. Choosing speakers because they are on sale can be disappointing, even though budgetary considerations are always important.

After finalizing the equipment choices and room design, professional installation avoids code-breaking electrical errors, while eliminating inductive noise sources. Other important requirements include concealment of intrusive connections and wiring, and making sure that heavy, hanging speakers are safely anchored. After installation, most firms also train selected church members in audio control panel operations.




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