It’s been a while that contemporary churches have been applying technology to making the worship experience more immersive. Audio plays a lead role in creating all-encompassing experiences, and sound equipment manufacturers have been making considerable inroads into delivering immersive sound. But what, exactly, does “immersive sound” mean? Jim Mobley, technical sales manager at loudspeaker manufacturer Renkus-Heinz, headquartered in Foothill Ranch, Calif., argues that augmented or enhanced acoustics systems––designed to increase room reverberation time––can contribute to the creation of an immersive experience. So, too, can the surround sound systems we hear at the cinema.
”I honestly don’t know if there is a better place for immersive sound than in a church.” — Josh Maichele, Application Engineer, Install - House of Worship Specialist USA and Canada, L-Acoustics, Marcoussis, France.
On a more sophisticated level, systems that continuously change delays that work in conjunction with tracking features localize the audio to, say, actors as they work the stage in a theatrical production. “When properly set up, the audience is unaware that there’s a PA system at all; they just know that they can hear and understand every word that the actor says, and it’s coming from her, right there on stage left. [When] she moves, I can track her with my eyes closed,” he describes.
Church Considerations
Is this same technology a viable solution for a house of worship environment? “I honestly don’t know if there is a better place for immersive sound than in a church,” says Josh Maichele, application engineer, install - house of worship specialist USA and Canada at L-Acoustics, a professional loudspeaker manufacturer headquartered in Marcoussis, France. “The reality is modern-day deployments as a whole end up being dual mono, because the important things––our pastor, our worship leader, the acoustic guitar, the kick drum––are panned in the center. So even in a stereo system or an LCR [left-center-right] system, we really end up with a mono system.”
L-Acoustics’ answer to this problem is L-ISA, an immersive audio system that combines processing, mixing and playback. Used in conjunction with the manufacturer’s loudspeakers, the audio is location-based, providing what Maichele argues is a more natural listening experience. “In nature, audio comes from all around us, and we tend to localize to where the audio comes from,” he says. He adds that contemporary church design, with its focus on creating intimacy with thrust stages that have the pastor out in the congregation, makes for a challenging audio environment, and that in-the-round seating configurations mandate video screens––which inherently compromise intimacy. “[With immersive audio,] we can go back to what would be a more suitable audio environment because we can create that connection and that intimacy through localization.”
”We will move away from channel-based systems and we will operate in a world of object-based systems. The information will have a location, and not just a level. ” — Asher Dowson, House of Worship Segment Manager, d&b audiotechnik, Backnang, Germany.
James King, director of marketing at Martin Audio in Buckinghamshire, U.K., explains that the development of object-based audio––allowing for control of the sound’s position and level, as well as the acoustic characteristics of a space––is at the core of immersive sound. “With several sources distributed across the front of the stage, utilizing object-based audio means the user can adjust the output from each source to provide more of the audience with a stereo image,” he describes. This, he says, transforms the “sweet spot” into the “sweet area.”
Martin Audio’s solution for providing immersive sound experiences is Sound Adventures, 3D immersive audio technology developed in partnership with Astro Spatial Audio. Based on the SARA II Premium Rendering Engine and accompanying software, this object-based system lets users position and move audio sources in real time, as well as via a timecode, cue-based, or tracking system. “The listener hears the objects, not loudspeakers, with interactions between loudspeakers and Doppler effects eliminated via algorithms,” King explains.
Based on delay-based localization, d&b Soundscape by d&b audiotechnik GmbH, headquartered in Backnang, Germany, delivers immersive audio with the combination of the manufacturer’s DS100 Signal Engine with Dante networking, and two software modules: d&b En-Scene (for sound object positioning) and d&b en-Space (a room emulator that will add and/or modify a space’s reverberation signatures). “[With Soundscape,] everyone––wherever they are sitting––can now localize where the sound is coming from,” explains Asher Dowson, house of worship segment manager at the company.
Overall Live-sound Ramifications
Dowson argues that this provides congregatants with a less distracting listening experience, and therefore makes for more engaging worship. “Because when your brain, based on your ear information, is saying, ‘the loudspeaker is hanging over here, but the pastor is over there,’ it causes a lot of ear fatigue, and the psyco-acoustic effect can really detract from the amount of attention [people pay to what’s going on, on the platform]. ” And he adds, “How engaged the congregation can be is very much dependent on that.”Specific manufacturers aside, Dowson believes that the concept of immersive sound will eventually change how audio is produced in a live environment. “We will move away from channel-based systems and we will operate in a world of object-based systems. The information will have a location, and not just a level,” he said. Regardless of method and approach, however, it’s the end result that counts. “I like the thought of creating technology that brings people closer.”
