UpperRoom, a Dallas-based dynamic church with a global outreach, has redefined immersive worship experiences in their newly-opened facility. The church recently installed a d&b audiotechnik loudspeaker system along with the company's Soundscape acoustic enhancement system, featuring the En-Scene and En-Space software modules.
“The audio system, designed and installed by Epic Resource Group, dramatically transformed the acoustics of the church's reclaimed industrial space, which was designed by Overland Partners, an architectural firm known for delivering transformative, innovative, and sustainable solutions,” the announcement states. “While Overland provided a beautiful impactful design, there were an array of acoustic challenges inherent in the space that needed to be overcome, including: an asymmetrical shaped room with a glass wall, an overhead circular ‘halo’ over the congregation, an acoustically dead environment, and numerous structural poles that blocked loudspeaker dispersion.”
Offering ministry 72 hours a week, UpperRoom’s vision was to create a more intimate and engaging worship environment to better draw attendees into the worship experience. Their goals, however, were not limited to the in-person services. UpperRoom is a content production powerhouse that connects with as many as 10,000 viewers per day on YouTube and there was a strong desire to enhance the quality of their online ministry, as well.
In working towards a solution to address in-person and online pastoral care needs, it became evident that a d&b audiotechnik Soundscape solution could not only meet but, exceed the UpperRoom requirements. Epic Resource Group founder Brandon Chynoweth relates, “With a complete d&b solution we were able to do something amazing in this space.”
A synergistic combination of d&b audiotechnik design tools helped provide a working plan. "Designing a system for a space this complicated wouldn't have been possible without d&b'sArrayCalc," shares Chynoweth. “The software enabled us to quickly envision how acoustic energy would fill the room and guided loudspeaker placement. Once the system was up and running, ArrayProcessing ensured consistent acoustic energy projection across the room. The design of the system’s loudspeakers and subwoofers with their inherent directivity patterns were instrumental in providing low stage volume resulting in clean, high-quality live recordings.”
The lynchpin of the installation was Soundscape, which helped solve the room’s most vexing acoustic problem, its twelve support poles. “Any stereo iteration I considered, always had a pole about three feet in front of at least one speaker. The En-scene module on Soundscape provided the only answer,” affirms Matt Wheeler, Epic’s senior audio systems designer. “The elegance of the Soundscape’s object-based mixing means a single loudspeaker doesn’t have to do all the work. En-Scene minimized shadowing from the room’s support beams ensuring adequate coverage of the entire room. Now, you don't hear the obstruction from the poles, sound appears to pass right through them.”
With En-Scene addressing the room’s acoustic challenges, En-Space room emulation opened up further possibilities. UpperRoom’s Global Audio Director, Brandon Meyer elaborates, “En-Space is the key to making everything sound as good as it does. The natural reverb time of the room is less than half a second, but with the Basilica emulation, we can create an acoustic space with up to a six-second reverb tail.” Meyer continues, “Although we’re not physically in a huge cathedral, acoustically we are. Best of all, front-of-house engineers can apply processing to specific elements or sources within the mix. Then when the pastor speaks, the message can be more tightly focused and sound like he’s speaking directly to you.”
The installation of d&b Soundscape has had a profound impact on UpperRoom. Congregants report feeling more deeply connected and immersed in the worship services. As Jonathan Lewis, executive prayer and worship pastor shares, "It's like you're in the middle of the experience and you're part of it." Lewis also reports that the system's clarity, dimensionality, and low stage volume have elevated the quality of UpperRoom’s live recordings and online broadcasts. "We didn’t just get a new sound system, we’re thrilled to have a ‘recording studio,’ too.”
The immersive nature of the church’s new location has also contributed to a growth in attendance. "Since we’ve opened the space, what's transpired since has been really special," said Meyer. "People don't know what they're hearing, they just know they like it. Sunday's services hit capacity and nearly doubled the attendance of our previous location. In fact, we’ve added another service on Saturday to accommodate everyone who wants to be a part of our worship experience."
Epic's Chynoweth concludes, “When you connect with people that deeply, your retention rate is much higher. If you’re focused on what that means for growing your church, spreading the word, making meaningful experiences in people’s lives, and keeping them engaged, Soundscape is a relatively small investment for the outcome it helps provide.”
About the System Configuration
The Soundscape 360 system features the DS-100 Signal Engine combined with 117 d&b loudspeakers installed in the facility. The front 180 degrees utilizes five compact T-Series line arrays with each array comprised of 6x T10 enclosures. Flown in-between the T-Series arrays are 12x V-SUB subwoofers, which combine with 9x ground stacked 21S-SUB subwoofers for low-end support. 13x xS-Series 44S enclosures are used as front fills, while 6x individual A-Seriesaugmented array boxes comprise the inner surround ring and 19x E-Series E12 point source loudspeakers complete the outer surround ring. 5x Y-Series YiP10 point source loudspeakers fulfill extension duties and 5x T-Series T10P enclosures provide delay coverage for the oval-shaped ramp that leads to additional seating.
