ROYAL PALM BEACH, FL — After having to make do with a sound reinforcement system that was under capacity for the size of its sanctuary, the management of Christ Fellowship Church, Royal Palm Campus decided the time had come to act upon the matter. The church selected a line array system from WorxAudio Technologies. Senior pastor Dr. Tom Mullins leads the non-denominational church, which has four campuses and online worship as well. After a long search for the right system for the church’s contemporary, music-driven worship format, where video also plays a prominent role, the church contracted with Burlington, N.C.-based Boone Audio Inc.
Paul Boone, president and CEO, dealt with a number of challenges including the fact that church services are held in multiple locations. Pastor Mullins’ live service at the church’s Gardens campus in Palm Beach is transmitted via fiber-optic cable to large-format video display set up above the stage/altar area in the Royal Palm sanctuary.
“Christ Fellowship Church’s Royal Palm sanctuary is a large space that was originally a Target retail store,” Boone said. “The main sanctuary is 130 feet long by 120 feet wide, but with a ceiling height of just 18 feet. The main stage/altar area faces into the room length-wise, so the sound system required the ability to throw far and wide.
“Because of the low ceiling, we needed a loudspeaker system with the ability to accurately control the sound dispersion,” Boone continued. “Otherwise, we would have encountered excessive sound reflections off the open truss, metal corrugated ceiling, which would seriously hinder speech intelligibility.
“This, coupled with the necessity of maintaining a clear line of sight to the stage for those people seated on the far left and right sides, along with a number of support columns throughout the space that could interfere with the loudspeaker’s dispersion, presented some very significant challenges,”
Boone added.
After demonstrating a possible solution last spring, the church’s management gave the nod to a system Boone designed. It included 14 of WorxAudio’s TrueLine V8i-P self-powered installation line array elements and two TrueLine V8DF-P powered downfill elements, coupled with two TrueLine TL218SS subwoofers for low frequency support.
The installation of acoustical treatment — also handled by the Boone Audio team — and the sound system itself, started in mid-October, with the first service occurring later that month.
“We flew seven V8i-P modules plus a single V8DF-P downfill module per side in a left-right stereo configuration over the front area of the stage,” said Boone. “These two clusters, which were flown at a height of 17 feet, are augmented by two TL218SS subwoofers that are installed into their own cubbyholes underneath the front of the stage/altar area.”
The V8i-P line array is a self-powered, compact, two-way line array loudspeaker. The V8DF-P complements the standard V8i with its ability to provide expanded vertical dispersion for front fill applications. The WorxAudio TL218SS subwoofer uses dual WorxAudio TL1801SS long excursion, high output, 18-inch LF transducers housed in tuned port enclosures.
With the project completed, Boone commented on the overall process. “The low ceiling, line of sight issues and support columns all contributed to a unique set of challenges on this job,” Boone said. “Hugh Sarvis of WorxAudio provided TEF analyzer measurements and EASE Focus modeling on this project, and this was a tremendous help.
“With the new system installed, the room now has a totally different character, audio-wise,” Boone added. “Coverage is extremely even no matter where you sit in the sanctuary, and the system has a commanding presence all the way to the rear of the room.
“We’ve received very positive comments from the church’s senior level worship team,” Boone said, noting that after hearing the system in their Royal Palm Campus sanctuary, church management expects to explore the possibility of upgrading other locations.
“We have since entered into discussions to handle a similar system upgrade at the main campus,” Boone added. “When an installation leads to new business, that’s the best compliment we could ever receive.”
For additional information, please visit www.booneaudio.com and www.worxaudio.com.
