When the leadership of Stonegate Church in Midlothian, Texas set out to expand their campus, audio was a central part of the vision. They wanted a sound system that could deliver power and clarity across multiple spaces: from an intimate chapel to a massive outdoor lawn with sports courts and student hangouts. All while remaining visually unobtrusive.
For the owner of First Class Production, Aaron Ingersoll and his team, this wasn’t just another project. “Stonegate is our church,” Ingersoll explains. The design process began in the chapel, where the church emphasized an organic aesthetic. The main focal point of the room was a brick wall, once part of an outdoor patio before the expansion. The leadership wanted the audio to be big and immersive, but the speakers had to disappear into the space.
First Class Productions chose a mix of 1 Sound Cannon C5s, C8s, and WSUB45i wall subs, mounted with a French cleat system on steel beams. The WSUB45i subs, in particular, drew praise: “We loved the mounting of it. People look at them and it doesn’t even look like a sub, which is really nice,” Ingersoll says.
One challenge was the chapel’s right-side wall, made entirely of glass. Despite the reflective surfaces, positioning of the Cannons and a little tuning, ensured even full coverage with no inconsistencies. As Ingersoll recalls: “Everybody that has walked in there and heard the system, number one, has a hard time finding the speakers. The feedback’s been great.”
And while some leaders were skeptical of the compact size of the Cannon speakers inside and the Contour horn-loaded speakers outside, their doubts quickly faded. “One of the leaders said, ‘Those are really small speakers — we were expecting big ones.’ I told him, ‘It’s okay, trust me.’ We turned it on, and he said, ‘Okay, I’m sorry. You were right!’”
From the chapel, sound flows into the student lobby, where six existing QSC K12s were reinforced with a pair of 1 Sound Sub12s for low-end balance.
Stepping outside, the student patio is powered by four Cannon C5s, creating “a seamless audio transition from indoors to outdoors,” explains Ingersoll.
From there, the sound extends across the lawn, where five CT28s paired with three Sub12s deliver full coverage. Originally designed with three CT28s, the plan expanded after the church decided to enlarge the student lawn. “They said, can we take these bigger speakers and just wrap them around the building more? So, we swapped out four C5s for two more CT28s,” Aaron explains.
The result is a consistent listening experience across all spaces — chapel, lobby, patio, and lawn. “It’s amazing having a sound system where on a Sunday, anything from the auditorium plays in the lobby, outside, and in the chapel. When the students have events, they press one button and the system gets way louder. They love it.”
The entire installation is powered by Powersoft amplifiers and runs over Dante. Input options across the campus include wall plates with XLR, aux, and Bluetooth over Dante. Both the chapel and lobby integrate wireless microphones and in-ear systems using Shure ULXD.
Ingersoll says the digital-first approach is designed for flexibility, scalability, and future-proofing as the church continues to expand. “Already, leadership has asked for more Cannons around the new playground, with possibilities of upgrading certain C5s to C8s for extended throw.”
Stonegate Church’s Production and IT Director, Will Hunt, comments, "Such clarity, tonal balance, coverage, and musicality in an impressively compact design! The Cannon Coaxials in the chapel fill the space, creating a pleasant, immersive experience. The Contours and SUB12s in our outdoor spaces deliver consistent, high-quality sound—whether at lower levels for Sunday morning walk-up music or cranked up for student events on the turf. Lou and his team have designed a wide range of beautiful-sounding loudspeakers, and we couldn’t be more pleased with their performance in our new spaces.”
First Class Productions delivered an audio design and installation that exceeded the expectations of their community church and even inspired more audio for the church’s continued build-up. Aaron explained he and his client feel, “the system is powerful, seamlessly distributed, and discreet.” As Ingersoll puts it: “We’re going to wrap the entire church in 1 Sound. And I love it.”
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Products Used: Cannon C5, Cannon C8, CT28, WSUB45i, SUB12, Powersoft Quattrocanalis and Duecanalis Amplifiers
