While services are scaled back to 150 attendees right now due to COVID, leadership at the 700-seat Central Peninsula Church in Foster City, California chose to install a new d&b A-Series loudspeaker with the help of PCD Audio/Video system integrators based in Santa Rosa.
The main performance criteria from techs at the Central Peninsula Church were increased intelligibility, fidelity and impact, along with greater gain before feedback and improved sightlines. The A-Series configuration chosen is in a vertical deployment underneath subs which was a critical decision as the church did not want to have anything on the ground or on the stage.
“The church is fairly contemporary in nature with a band that would include drums, bass, acoustic and electric guitars, a keyboard, and 2-4 vocalists,” states Tim Belleson, Technical Director, Central Peninsula Church. “The decision to install the A-Series was that the system is compact by nature; definitely a great selling point for us. Working with our integrator PCD, we explored several different companies and solutions. The final decision that sold me on the A-Series system was ArrayProcessing and how even the coverage is while still maintaining its modest form factor.”
A-Series is the newest category of loudspeakers from d&b, the augmented array. d&b A-Series addresses the needs of many mid-size applications where a point source solution may not give adequate coverage or SPL, and a line array may exceed architectural or budgetary constraints.
The new A-Series rig along with 10S loudspeakers that are used for outfills are able to cover the entire space with no front fills or subs on the ground. d&b ArrayProcessing was used to evenly spread the energy distribution and tonal balance from front to rear in order to provide a consistent listening experience for each congregation member, regardless of where they are seated. The A-Series array has a higher output than a single point source, excellent low frequency response, and excellent gain before feedback due to its well-controlled directivity. Cardioid Vi-Subs were flown with the A-Series mounted underneath them to provide a compact and clean visual aesthetic. Due to COVID, the system was commissioned remotely by d&b in partnership with PCD.
Belleson added that John Rudolph, Vice President at PCD provided configuration options and worked with the church a lot to determine the final configuration. “John spoke extremely highly of the accuracy of the modeling, and though I had not heard the A-Series before this, I have heard a few other d&b loudspeaker systems and always enjoyed the sound of them.”
PCD also installed two 30D amplifiers and uses d&b R1 Remote control software when needed to couple configurations or mute the PA. A Yamaha CL5 digital audio console is used at front of house.
Rudolph says, “After reviewing the plans and making site visits, we worked with d&b audiotechnik representatives Matt Collins and Mark Rush to create a virtual model of the space and predict the coverage pattern and frequency response expected in the space when done. After getting approvals and working with Tim and his staff to install the system, the results were absolutely ‘spot on’ accurate as predicted with the ArrayCalc modeling software. We were so thrilled to see the results and so was the staff at the church! Wonderful job by the team at d&b audiotechnik and a wonderful client that appreciates the difference a world class speaker system can impact on a venue.”
