A Rock solid sound solution
A Rock solid sound solution
The decision was recently taken to enhance the sound system in the 1,200-seat sanctuary and properly utilise a Biamp DSP unit equipped with a Dante output already installed. It was up to the church’s former technical director, Scott Tomashek – who happens to be director of A/V design engineering at Camera Corner Connecting Point (CCCP) – to come up with the right solution.
‘We came to learn that although the sound reinforcement system had great components, they weren’t the right system for the room,’ says Mr Tomashek. ‘The speakers had coverage patterns that were too tight so not everything got covered, and there was weird lobbing on top of that. It was rewarding to be on this project because I got to design the system that we always felt we should have had from the start.’
Mr Tomashek and Christ the Rock’s current technical director, Andy Cox, compared several solutions during an audition process. An SLS Audio Ribbon line array solution was ultimately chosen along with Ashly Audio’s nX-Series amplifiers. The Biamp DSP was installed along with a new sound system recently set up in the church’s lobby and Mr Cox wanted to use this for processing the new system in the sanctuary. This led the selection of the Ashly amplifiers.
‘I needed an amp that would accept a Dante input but that didn’t have DSP built in – because why spend money on DSP the church didn’t need?’ explains Mr Tomashek. ‘I also needed an amplifier that would be reliable for the long run. Ashly’s nX-Series of amplifiers was perfect. Ashly’s got the history and the reputation, and I could order amps with Dante and no DSP.’
The new sanctuary setup comprises nine SLS CPA7600 loudspeakers flown in a central cluster with left and right side arrays of eight CPA660 SLS loudspeakers each. A pair of four-channel Ashly nXe8004 network amplifiers drive the top components of the central cluster and the entirety of the side clusters. Meanwhile, a four-channel Ashly nXe1.54 network amplifier drives the low-mid components of the central cluster while another one has been bridged to form a two-channel amplifier that powers two SLS dual 18 subwoofers.
‘Installing the Ashly amps was easy, and the Dante setup was quick and smooth,’ Mr Tomashek concludes. ‘We met all of our design goals, and it was satisfying to finally hear that room the way we had always wanted it to sound. The church members noticed too! Andy got a lot of compliments, including a few folks who were hard of hearing but rejoiced in telling him they could understand every single word with the new system.’
www.ashly.com
www.cccp.com
www.christtherock.org
www.slsloudspeakers.com