A couple of weeks after Craig Beyrooti installs a church's new audio system he is back at the site during a service just to ask, “What do you think of the new system?” A parishioner answers, “I can't hear the sound coming from the loudspeakers.” Beyrooti says, “Ah, but can you hear what Pastor Tony Welle is saying?” He says, “Oh yes, every word.” Beyrooti smiles and says, “Then I have done my job.”
Specified and installed by his company Atlantic Professional Audio (APA) based in Orlando, Fla., the new system is tiny, just four 12S-D loudspeakers from the d&b audiotechnik xS-Series. But that doesn't mean the project was without challenges. So Beyrooti returns to the Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church in Indialantic, Fla., several weeks after the church's new PA system has been signed off, just to make sure all is well.
"The previous system was ceiling speakers, not great for bands; the different arrival times from this old system only muddied the sound image."
Craig Beyrooti
Owner, Atlantic Professional Audio, Orlando, FL.
“The church is bigger than it looks on the website, maybe one thousand capacity,” says Beyrooti. “The room is rectangular, the short side runs between altar and congregation so it's a wide coverage requirement. The previous system was ceiling speakers, not great for bands; the different arrival times from this old system only muddied the sound image. So we were more concerned about coverage, as was George Kobosko, the church's worship director and music leader.”
The church had specific goals, as Kobosko explains. “When Craig first approached us our church leader Pastor Tony was very clear: ‘I want it to sound like I'm standing next to you, wherever you sit in the church'. Craig presented us with the software mapping of the church and explained how his proposed system design would work. He also explained the unique d&b ethos to us. That's what really sold us; you can understand when a person has that philosophy and stands behind the products he uses.”
A thought Beyrooti endorsed. “This is a lively room; tiled floor, hard walls, lots of glass and marble. Although there is some acoustic treatment to the walls the coverage pattern of the loudspeakers needs to be well defined. That's one good reason why we selected the d&b product range, their loudspeakers behave exactly as the specification says it will.”
As far as Kobosko is concerned the resultant system has delivered on all fronts. “We will probably do some more work on the acoustic of the building in the future but I do like a little bit of reverb. However, were reverb to be eliminated this is still a better sound for the singers, and on the instrumentation side our Steinway sounds much better. Following Craig's advice, we have also replaced our acoustic guitar and drums with electric instruments; that has given a dimension of control we didn't have before and means what the congregation hears throughout the church is much more consistent. That makes what we do at the church more engaging. There is a dilemma there; we don't want the congregation to just sit back and listen, we want them to engage as well. The new system certainly helps fulfil that goal.”
