St Cuthbert’s relies on Noiseboys Technologies to amplify modern sound

North London-based St Cuthbert’s turned to AV consultants and integrators, Noiseboys Technologies, to specify and install a new audio system for music amplification and speech reproduction that it hoped would cover the church with better, clearer sound, and had the versatility to be used in multiple orientations and settings.

The church’s existing 100V audio system had been designed purely for speech amplification and no longer reflected the needs of a worship team which plays as a band with drums, keyboard, electric and acoustic guitars, as well as multiple singers. The old speakers positioned on the exterior walls struggled to provide coverage for the full congregation and the system lacked the flexibility to facilitate the church’s busy programme of worship, education and community events.

A pair of four 700W APEX CloudPower CP704 amplifiers was chosen to drive all loudspeakers in the church. Noiseboys Technologies director, Phill Beynon, had been introduced to CloudPower amplifiers by Mike Roissetter from APEX’s UK distributor, FBT Audio, and quickly saw their potential to address the need for flexibility in the St Cuthbert’s project. “Aside from Sunday morning and evening services the church hosts different events and meetings, some of which are seated facing the front, some using café style tables, and some conducted from mid-way in the room, or at the opposite end to the traditional orientation,” Beynon explained. “We needed to provide a way for non-technical volunteers to change configurations as required. CloudPower’s integral DSP allowed us to create a series of speaker setup scenarios that can be easily recalled as presets from the simple front panel interface.” CloudPower’s IntelliCloud WebUI was used to configure the amplifiers during the installation and provides the potential for remote monitoring and control in the future.

Another challenge was to create a system that was aesthetically discreet, yet capable of delivering on the live music element of the client’s brief. Noiseboys Technologies secured approval from the relevant authorities to install a pair of coaxial Martin Audio CDD8s and ten CDD5 loudspeakers in the historic early twentieth century church. A rack housing the CloudPower amplifiers and a Yamaha TF-RACK digital mixer was positioned at the front of the church. The mixer is operated wirelessly from an iPad, allowing the church to repurpose the space previously occupied by a central AV control position and reducing the visual impact of the equipment. Noiseboys Technologies also supplied Audio-Technica ES series gooseneck microphones, 3000 series radio mics and in-ear monitors for the worship band.

The installation at St. Cuthbert’s was completed at the end of August 2022 and has been in near-constant use ever since.