Christ's Church of Winterville, North Carolina, embraces a contemporary style of worship, consequently, audio visual upgrades were a major part of the recent renovation project to transform the worship center. After years of replacing AV system components as necessary with a “band-aid approach,” church leaders hired Auburn AV CEO/co-founder John Crawford to design and install an all new comprehensive sound, video and lighting system.
The rectangular room's concrete walls and metal-skinned roof presented significant acoustical challenges. In scoping and designing the sound system, Crawford focused on directivity and fidelity. Fulcrum CX Series 2-way loudspeakers with single-neodymium-magnet coaxial transducers serve as mains - with left and right CX1595s (90° x 45°), and a CX1526 (120° x 60°) and CX896 (90° x 60°) on center.
“To provide low frequency support while directing energy off the stage, we flew a pair of Fulcrum US221-2 dual 21 inch subwoofers in an active cardioid array above the proscenium. The sub array is an excellent match for the coverage and output level of the mains,” explains Crawford. “We also redesigned the side walls with angles to eliminate parallel reflections, and we installed acoustic paneling to the rear and to select areas of the side walls. This let us create a balance between life in the room for acoustic sources and the sound quality of the speaker system.”
“Our old downward-firing, ceiling-mounted speaker cluster would blast the center of the room while leaving quiet corners to which some of our older members gravitated,” recalls Christ's Church Worship Minister Jordan Clark. “Now, sound levels are consistent throughout the room with no hot spots to avoid. We are extremely happy with our new sound system and have heard nothing but positive feedback from our congregation on its benefit to our services.”
