Alpha Sound brings NEXO system to two Salem churches

Oregon-based audio production and installation company, Alpha Sound, has conducted two NEXO ID series installations in churches local to the company in Salem. Central to the systems in both St Paul’s Episcopal Church and Kingwood Bible Church is the deployment of a pair of NEXO’s new ID84 columns as the main speakers, supplemented by ID14s covering smaller areas of the churches.

Alpha Sound’s Devin Sheets explained: “When we first got our hands on the ID84, we discovered something very different from a conventional column loudspeaker. Firstly, the soft dome tweeter array lends what I would describe as an almost ‘hi-fi’ sonic characteristic, with an open, natural high end that’s perfectly suited to speech reproduction, which makes up so much of a typical church service.

“Then there’s the coverage. With continued downward off-axis response intelligibility, we found that a pair of ID84s mounted 20 feet up delivered consistent SPL and frequency coverage right to the very back of the venue. It’s fair to think of the ID84 as a viable substitute for a small line array in applications where the budget is limited.”

The system at St Paul’s uses a pair of ID84s in what is considered a long, narrow, and semi-reverberant space. With a shared sonic signature, ID14s are used to cover the transept, choir, and overflow areas. A similar system is deployed at the Kingwood Bible Church, where the main space is somewhat shorter at 55ft, with relatively dry acoustics. A pair of ID14s cover the balcony areas and a single NEXO L18 sub extends LF response. The full system at the Kingwood Bible Church is powered by a single NEXO NXAMP4X1MK2, while the St Paul’s system uses an NXAMP4X1MK2, supplemented by a NEXO DTD/DTDAMP4x0.7 which powers the ID14s.

“The NXAMPMK2 is our go-to amplification solution” continued Sheets. “Having pre-sets for every cabinet and horn configuration makes it quick and easy to configure systems that combine different speakers from the NEXO range. And it’s also very cost-effective. We can even use a couple of spare channels to power legacy speakers such as existing ceiling speakers in other rooms.”

“People have said, ‘wow, the system sounds great, but where is it?’” said Sheets. “It’s just another example of how the NEXO ID Series is so well suited to applications in houses of worship.”