Solutions for Churches
In our initial meeting with the Pastors and the Music Director of Covenant
of Grace, they shared how the system was installed years ago and that they had
been "plagued with feedback problems and several 'dead spots' where no amplified
sound could be heard." For a church with a Contemporary Worship Service with
a great deal of instrumental music, this was a major problem.
This just happens to be a perfect example of how many contractors can install
great speakers, but the selection and location of the speakers are all wrong!
EAW is a manufacturer of many high quality speakers; however, the speaker model
and the installation at Covenant of Grace were wrong for many reasons. All too
often, churches think that if they have two strong speakers in the ceiling or
on the wall, they are set. But loudspeaker manufacturers all make many different
types of speakers for all the different types of applications. How do you select
the right model and know that it will be right?
Below, we have computer modeled Covenant of Grace before and after the AV/COM
installation:
- In the left column, we have acoustically modeled the original EAW installation
as it was before we started.
- In the right column, we show the results of how AV/COM used computer modeling
to identify the correct speaker and placement to provide a system capable
of smooth and adequate level to accommodate a clear spoken word for the message
and a powerful sound for the Praise Team.
When any number of loudspeakers are installed without electronic processing
(equalization, crossovers, delays, filters, etc) to make their interference
constructive instead of destructive, the outcome can be a fan shaped pattern
that causes hot and cold
spots of level in the listening area.
The standard means for quantifying (identifying) sound levels (Sound Pressure
Levels or SPL) is with the measurement unit - the decibel, or dB. The bar graph
on the side of each model shows the SPL range that can be expected in the room.
The more solidly the room is colored; the room will sound more even. Note the
pretty starburst in the first graph - this shows the "hot"
and "cold spots" Covenant of Grace was
experiencing. Notice the evenness of the AV/COM model across from it.
