SPRINGFIELD, MA — If there’s been a dramatic improvement in the intelligibility of the spoken word and the 125-year-old Sacred Heart Church, it can’t really be attributed to a miracle. Instead, the change has more to do with the church’s replacement of its sound system.
The upgrade did away with an old distributed audio system and replaced it with a single pair of Renkus-Heinz Iconyx Digitally Steerable Array loudspeakers. It was part of a complete audio refit.
The old audio system wan’t entirely to blame, however. Sure, there would be the occasional intrusion of a local radio station though the church’s sound system. But even after it was beautifully restored, the interior of the church remains highly reverberant, and that was probably the biggest reason why parishioners in the 1,200-seat space found the eulogies and sermons so hard to follow.
The old system used 10 loudspeakers, two flown over the congregation, eight more arranged along the walls, to serve a seating area that stretches back in a T-shape. Some parishioners sit 102 feet from the altar, and the 80-foot-high interior space varies in width from 92 feet to 108 feet across, with stone columns intervening as well.
It didn’t help that the old rack of gear produced “thermal noise, hum, buzz, along with the occasional RFI blast,” noted Richard G. O’Connell, principal of integrators AV DesignBuild.
To fix the situation, O’Connell proposed a radical solution, starting with the replacement of the loudspeakers with custom-painted Iconyx IC24 units, an Audix microphone specifically matched to the altar position, close to one of the ICONYX locations, a new mixer and simplified rack and updated wiring.
“Simplicity,” he added, “or, put another way, design elegance, is the new model. My approach is to use the fewest number of parts to accomplish the client’s goal. Our clients want to hear audio content — and see video content — and not press buttons. They don’t want to see machines, which only detract from content and the beauty of timeless architectural spaces. At Sacred Heart Church, the system delivers clear, intelligible sound to 1,200 parishioners, and the technology is nearly invisible.”
Following a demonstration of a single Renkus-Heinz Iconyx IC24 to the parish’s leaders by Scott Pizzo of Renkus-Heinz, Inc. and Bob Strauss of Cardone Solomon Associates, AV DesignBuild secured the contract and installed a single left and right pair of IC24 loudspeakers, flush-mounted to the columns that flank the church’s altar.
“All of the decision-makers were present at the demo, and they concurred that a single speaker could replace five loudspeakers, delivering greater clarity and much better sound coverage,” said O’Connell, of the full replacement system that used the two IC24s. “They are unique, with a very wide horizontal dispersion and a very even throw to 100 feet.”
The choice of microphone was also crucial, O’Connell said. Dave Fuchs of Chris Ross Associates brought in eight Audix microphones for testing, while AV DesignBuild supplied an Aphex 1788 eight-channel microphone preamplifier with headphone output, comparing the microphones at every position with Direct Sound EX-20 extreme isolation headphones, including each model’s off-axis rejection, as this was critical for loudspeaker placement.
“The Audix M1255 capsule won the microphone derby,” O’Connell said. “We deployed it as a microboom for the chorus, a gooseneck for the pulpit, just 24 inches from one of the Iconyx columns, conference-style for the altar, and a custom configuration for the kneeler.”
Again, parish representatives approved the choice. “A speaker can be up to three feet from the microphone, and still be heard throughout the church,” O’Connell added, “a testament to the pattern control of both the loudspeaker and the microphone.”
Berini Electric assisted with speaker installation, cable pathways, removal of the existing speaker system, and the specification for the correct Surgex NEMA enclosure to provide not only surge suppression and power conditioning, but also remote power up from the equipment rack.
Rounding out the new gear is an APB DynaSonics H10290 mixer, a Tascam CD700 with foot pedal operation from the altar by the celebrant, a Raxxess iPod docking station, a Biamp 412e stereo preamp/mixer as stereo program source selector and level control, and a Biamp Audio Solo programmable automixer, which features EQ filters and a matrix router to deliver all sound sources to seven destinations and provide automatic functioning and lowered thermal noise. All existing audio cable was also replaced with double-shielded Gepco cable within conduit, which again served to reduce noise and EMI/RFI interference.
The resulting system is performing smoothly, even when church activities don’t. A case in point was when the church suffered a power outage during a funeral service. The audio system was completely restored when power returned, with no loss of settings or processor function.
“From the moment the new system was deployed, parishioners have been approaching me and expressing great appreciation,” O’Connell said. “The message is now pre-eminent.”
For more information, please visit www.renkus-heinz.com.
