MONTEREY, CA – CCI Solutions, Olympia, Wash., recently completed the first phase of a full audio system retrofit at Shoreline Community Church, which included the installation of an all-L-Acoustics loudspeaker and amplified controller package.
Mark Pearson, CCI senior systems consultant, noted that Shoreline's 950-seat worship center now features a sound reinforcement system comprised of two clusters of six KIVA enclosures each paired with two KILO low-frequency extension boxes. Four SB28 subs are horizontally flown between the arrays, with four 12XTi coaxial systems to provide sidefill and delay. Two LA4 amplified controllers power and process the mains, while the subs and coaxials are driven by two LA8s.
"Like many churches, Shoreline's three Sunday services are very music-heavy and required a system that could better keep up with the contemporary worship team," Pearson said. "They had the chance to hear a KIVA demo some time ago and pretty much knew that it was what they wanted. I was familiar with V-DOSC and have now been very impressed with the company's smaller enclosures, which are more suitable for many of our install clients."
Ben Huey, technical director for Shoreline, called the new L-Acoustics system "a vast improvement – a bit like going from an old CRT television to a really high-end HDTV. The loudspeakers we previously used were about 10 years old and they sounded like it. Once the KIVA system had gone in, I kept thinking that I was hearing frequencies that we hadn't heard in a while. We're now getting a much more accurate and honest representation of what the band is actually playing, which is awesome. It sounds amazing."
Huey, who admitted that he likes "shaking the building" with the new rig, plans to add two more SB28s, which will turn the current subwoofer system into two LF cardioid arrays.
"When people are unimpressed with a sound system, it's usually because there isn't enough sub. Even with four SB28, this system is thunderous," Huey said. "The first time we fired it up, we were doing a rehearsal for a series with a superhero element to it. Our musical director, who plays keyboards, was performing the theme from Superman, and, when he hit the final chord, we kicked in the subs, and the whole room came alive. He ended up playing that chord over and over and didn't stop laughing for probably five minutes. The energy in the room was so palpable; he loved it."
CCI's Pearson added that he's a big fan of Shoreline's new system – not only for its sound quality, but also for its ease of installation and use. "Our installation technicians have installed just about every system on the market. They feel that the simplicity of KIVA's internal rigging system is one of the best. It's a huge time saver. The way you're able to simply hold down a button to adjust the box angle is fantastic. And the sheer fact that everything in the room is run off of just four amplifiers instead of 12, which is what we used to use, is very, very cool."
For more information, please visit www.ccisolutions.com, www.shorelinechurch.org and www.l-acoustics.com.
