Houston's First Baptist Church chooses loudspeakers from Meyer Sound for its larger rooms.
In his book, “Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking,” author Malcolm Gladwell poses an observation regarding decisions: “The key to good decision making is not knowledge. It is understanding. We are swimming in the former. We are desperately lacking in the latter.” Knowledge without understanding. Understanding without knowledge. The two often go hand in hand but the scale tips heavily towards knowledge. The same can be said for our gear-obsessed ways in the world of production. Fascination with catalogs full of gadgets, space-age consoles, and the biggest and baddest technology available can often drive our choices. It's precisely this overload of knowledge that makes us confident, but a lack of understanding unknowingly leads us astray.
Loudspeakers often become a point of pride for any engineer or venue, yet they are one of the most misunderstood components in a system design. Assuming we understand the algorithms of phase, frequency response, acoustics, and coupling, among other things, we often revert to our perceived knowledge with little to no awareness of how these factors work together. Choosing loudspeakers, for any application, is not always a simple task. And when done so without criteria or a disciplined process, the results can be costly—in the most literal sense.
So, how can we move beyond our biases and knowledge toward a more comprehensive understanding when choosing loudspeakers? CPM spoke with several production and audio directors around the country regarding their processes involving the research, testing, and integration of loudspeakers into their churches. While individual preferences and application-specific needs will vary from place to place, the wisdom of having a thorough and sound process in place will benefit you and your ministry in the long run.
Contributors:
Blair Drake / Lead Audio Engineer, Christ’s Church of the Valley, Phoenix.
Brian Poole / Live Production Technologies Director, Elevation Church, Charlotte, N.C.
Nick Rosenbaum / Production Director, First Baptist Church, Houston.
What factors influence your decision when searching out and purchasing speakers?
[ Drake: ] Once I’ve nailed down a range of products that will meet our goals for the space, it really comes down to price. The word stewardship comes to mind. Good stewardship is not always about spending less (sometimes it is), but rather [it’s about] good planning and management of resources. Research the products and talk to people you trust that are using them. Go listen or bring a demo into your space (always be careful here, A/B tests can be misleading). I’m always looking to maximize value without sacrificing our goals.
"While individual preferences and application- specific needs will vary from place to place, the wisdom of having a thorough and sound process in place will benefit you and your ministry in the long run."
[ Rosenbaum: ] Transparency. What does that speaker do to the sound coming from the performer? The better the natural sound of the performer, amplified to the level required for the event, the better the overall end product. We can EQ a homemade PA to sound good for a while, but that same expenditure of time to EQ could have been saved by spending more on the cabinet.
[ Poole: ] For us, it’s been an evolution of finding consistent products. A consistent box equals consistent sound, week after week. We put a heavy emphasis on the experience our attendees have—what they hear, what they see, and how that impacts their worship. So we start with our expectations and then search for the product that fits the criteria. We’re also looking for something that not only sounds great, but will stand up to use over the years.
For your current spaces at your church, how did you arrive at the loudspeakers chosen?
[ Drake: ] At CCV we currently have six campuses with multiple production spaces at each campus and a number of manufacturers are represented. In the last two campuses launched, we installed L-Acoustics Kiva arrays with SB15 subs in the air and SB18 subs on the ground, all driven by LA4X amps. The rooms are both around 800-seat auditoriums, and we’ve been very happy with the results. Speech intelligibility is fantastic and it can still handle a rock mix in a room that size. So it really came down to our personal opinion of sound quality and application for the space.
[ Rosenbaum: ] We have several brands covered in our campuses. We always make decisions based on the room and audience. For the larger spaces we have typically chosen to implement Meyer Sound products. The longevity, transparency and overall build quality make Meyer a great solution for us. Albeit, not the cheapest solution, but over the span of time the best for what we are trying to accomplish.
[ Poole: ] Our large auditoriums at each campus use either d&b Audiotechnik or L-Acoustics boxes. The d&b USA headquarters is only an hour away, so it makes for convenient support and repair when necessary. Lately, we’ve been going with L-Acoustics, mostly due to our own personal preference. Again, trying to create that consistency and sound experience week to week. Aside from large rooms, other spaces, such as children’s rooms, will be all sorts of things. Older systems repurposed or various boxes depending on the need.
What mistakes do you see churches make when it comes to loudspeaker selection?
[ Drake: ] One I often see in new installs or upgrades is neglecting proper acoustic treatment in the space. And no I’m not talking about slapping a few acoustic panels on the walls. Hire an acoustician and treat the challenges in the room. If it’s a new build, consider the room geometry and avoid parallel surfaces. This is good stewardship considering how greatly it will affect the listening experience and how small a cost it often is in relation to the full scope of the project. When selecting a speaker system, don’t box yourself in to a specific type of speaker design before considering the room geometry and coverage goals. You may not want to install a vertical line array in a room 100 feet deep with 12-foot ceilings.
[ Rosenbaum: ] The best solution is not always to hire the ‘best’ consultant and let them design your PA. The most well-intentioned and egregious designs are from those large firms that don’t really take time to design to the four factors we’ve outlined in our standards [audience, event, room, budget]. There are two designs that come to mind immediately when thinking of the word ‘mistake.’ Both are large venues that had 1970’s-style exploded horn and mid/low frequency array technology installed in the ‘out of sight’ vein of logic. They were installed too high in the space and had far too wide horizontal and overlapping high frequency coverage. The sad and scary side is that these churches leveraged so hard to land in their new rooms and now can’t afford to even dream of fixing it. They are still using the consultant’s poor design choices to this day.
[ Poole: ] Most mistakes come in the early planning phase. It’s easy to get caught up in the ‘cheap’ and ‘budget-minded’ discussion. We all know there has to be a budget at the end of the day, but you need to avoid dead ends. You should always have a future vision [of] how your plan can scale. Maybe you don’t replace an entire PA at once but start with the subs then do the mains a year later; something like that. Always look at the long-term and how a solid master plan will work out. It will probably end up saving you money in the long run. Also, know that manufacturers want to make a sale. So line up some demo boxes from the manufacturer or find a great dealer that will work with you. If a place is worth [its] reputation, they will do what it takes to make you happy in the end and help you thoroughly test and research your options.
How have you sought to keep consistency and continuity between your campuses and loudspeaker selection?
[ Drake: ] When selecting a speaker system for any application, from a breakout room to a 5,000-seat auditorium, I am looking for a product that will adequately cover the listening area, provide a balanced frequency response, minimize phase distortion, and meet the maximum SPL requirements for the space. This is a broad answer, but if you hit these four areas you’ll be well on your way to consistent sound reinforcement regardless of the application. Sadly, many people fail to develop a list of standards before they start.
[ Rosenbaum: ] Our church has set a very high bar of excellence when it comes to guest experience. Part of that experience is the quality and clarity of the sound they listen to during a service or event. There are four factors that must be answered for each purchase or rental of loudspeakers. Audience size is the first criteria. The size of the group will drive the basic sizing of the PA. Second, the event planning. Will the event have a band or orchestra, choir, or more? Third, the venue. What does the room or space dictate in regard to PA design? Finally, the budget; and there is always a budget. We have found, though, that the fourth factor cannot be the driving factor. It will be part of the decision, but no one will be pleased if money is the decision driver.
[ Poole: ] We’ve always tried to keep the end goal in mind and make sure everything we do is scalable. Aside from installing the right speakers for the application, customer service has been big for us. A company that you can develop a relationship with and provides great support and training, those are big factors in sticking with them for the long haul. Plus, when you keep that consistency from campus to campus, people know what they are going to get. Consistent results and experience— regardless of the venue.
