MADISON, AL – American Audio, Inc. used Sennheiser wireless gear to help the 3,500-congregation Asbury United Methodist Church overcome white space issues. The gear, including Sennheiser's ew 365 G2 and ew 300 series microphones, supports two services conducted simultaneously in dedicated sanctuaries.
Serving a growing community comprised predominantly of aerospace and defense contractors, the church ranks as one of the 25 largest United Methodist Churches in the nation. Along with continued growth, the church also faced a relatively crowded wireless frequency spectrum.
Asbury called on Ruston, LA-based American Audio, Inc. to coordinate the wireless integration. American Audio chose Sennheiser for both the wireless antenna infrastructure as well as a range of microphones and wireless personal monitors.
"The most important thing is our message. Just about everything we do involves audio, and we need to make sure it can be heard everywhere," said Asbury's technical director, Beau Miles. "For me, it was a no brainer," he added, crediting Sennheiser for being "way ahead of the game" when it comes to the frequency spectrum issue.
The two simultaneous services include a traditional service held in the main sanctuary and a contemporary services are held in a new, multi-purpose 1,500-seat auditorium. In addition to its main worship services, Asbury also hosts other services, baptisms and other activities throughout the facility, all of which require clear, intelligible audio.
Despite potential frequency interference from local defense and aerospace contracting facilities, Miles said the wireless coordination went smoothly.
"After the units were racked up, we dialed the frequencies in, turned the transmitters on and put them in a box together in the middle of the stage and tested them. Then we walked through the craziest parts of the building where we never thought we would be able to use wireless mics, and everything worked flawlessly. We were amazed."
Asbury Church also looked to Sennheiser for its wireless mics, used for spoken word during services as well as for musical talent. American Audio specified 11 ew 300 series lavalier style mics and five ew 365 G2 wireless mics.
"For me, the most important thing in a microphone is whether or not it is producing a quality sound," said Miles. "If the mic is not faithfully capturing everything that is happening on stage, I won't use it." Flexibility is another consideration. "I have many types of singers and voices: male, female, bass, soprano and everything in between. These mics have to work across all these applications."
Miles also spoke favorably of Sennheiser's Wireless Systems Manager (WSM), which lets the Asbury United Methodist Church production team seamlessly monitor system parameters in real time via the network. This is particularly useful during the church's "drama" segments.
"We have a drama team where we are acting out scripture, and we always have to know the mics are going to work right," Miles noted. "On the WSM system, I have transparency into the entire system – if someone is muted, if the batteries are low or if the system is not receiving. That makes all the difference and makes me more confident in my job.
"All in all, we came out of the installation feeling confident and secure," Miles continued. "Now we are working on more renovations on our campus and will eventually go to all Sennheiser, because the coordination with the white spaces, the customer service and most importantly because of the quality of the microphones."
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