New Community Church revitalised

Founded in 1926, New Community Church in Vista, California had been seeking a new sound system to provide clarity and inspiration, especially to those seated on its balcony where the old setup failed to reach. At the same time, the church didn’t want a sound system that overpowered the congregation and, after a year of research, which included visiting other churches, New Community enlisted Essex Sound to design a solution that catered to its needs, leading to the installation of a Vue Audiotechnik al-4 line array system.

‘Our old system was tired, rundown and cranky,’ recalled co-paster Justin Hoeppner. ‘It had virtually no high frequency response, which gave us a muddy mid-range.’

The church building seats approximately 600 people and its huge balcony extends out over half of the lower level, presenting an audio challenge. To accommodate the sanctuary’s unique shape, 120° wide dispersion horns were selected to ensure proper coverage. Two arrays of eight al-4 elements per side were suspended and wired in stereo by request. A pair of as-215 subwoofers deliver the low-end response. The Vuepoint Beam Forming process allowed the system to be aimed so that it covers both the balcony and lower seating area, while attenuating hot spots.

After the first service following the installation, Hoeppner commented: ‘With our old system, we could always see a difference between the audience on the floor and the audience in the balcony. The difference in sound made the balcony attendees much less engaged with the music. Now with our improvements, we’re seeing a more uniform engagement throughout the auditorium. We have plenty of volume, but it’s not overwhelming everyone with massive SPL. The presence is incredibly different which makes our people feel more immersed and connected to the service. We’re thrilled with the results, and we couldn’t be happier with our selection.’