Moving mountains and travelling oceans

Christian Mission Fellowship International (CMFI), headquartered in Suva on the island of Fiji, serves 120 countries across 5,000 churches globally and has a congregation reaching more than 30,000 worshippers. The World Harvest Centre (WHC) is the organisation’s main venue, which has the capacity to hold 3,500 worshippers, a full band, production crew and a 100-member choir. Since its construction in 1990, the centre has installed a variety of audio systems but none had been able to overcome the scale of reverberance that comes with a venue of this size.

Head pastor Suliasi Kurulo decided it was time for change. The search began for a company that would not only provide a highquality system but one that would need to understand Fiji’s unique culture. It was clear that whoever undertook this project would require a deep level of understanding of what the church’s vision was for its members. After several CAD models and proposals were drawn up, WHC awarded the project to Carey Leghorn from CVAV Australia based on a Martin Audio system.

Leghorn, along with Anthony Russo from Technical Audio Group (TAG), made multiple visits to WHC to scope out the scale of the project and create a design suitable for the church’s requirements. Leghorn explains that this project was one of the most difficult he had ever worked on, due to the challenges posed by the size of the venue. “We faced several obstacles, from working at 15m heights for PA rigging to custom steel fabrication onsite. Additionally, we had to install several kilometres of cables through a complex roof structure. Most of the manufacturing had to be done in Australia with no room for error once the equipment had been put on the container and left port.”

Meticulous planning was required for the transport process – nothing could go unchecked, not even the smallest rigging nuts and bolts all the way up to the cabling and tools. Given the church’s significant financial investment in the project, WHC dispatched pastor Suliasi’s son and production manager Vatu Weleilakeba to Australia to inspect every item of equipment before it was dispatched to Fiji. Impressed with CVAV and TAG’s professionalism during his inspection, Weleilakeba comments: “I was able to review the frequency response of each speaker on paper before packing, and every electronic item underwent soak testing for over a month. Additionally, I could inspect the preassembled racks and was thoroughly impressed by the attention to detail that the team was putting into the project.”

After hundreds of hours of modelling, the final speaker design was based on a Martin Audio WPM line array system with processing and amplification from Q-SYS. The church team wanted to retain and improve some of the existing Q-SYS backbone and converge it with the Martin Audio system.

Russo takes up the story: “During my many visits to the church, I sat in on services and envisioned the aspects of the system design and how to conquer the space. I was emotionally moved by how much effort and love this space intertwines with every congregation member’s life. The services are like major concert events with 3,000+ people singing, supported by a full band and choir. Therefore, the system had to achieve higher than normal SPLs and provide a unique experience generally associated with an international touring act. I believe every seat needs to be the best seat, all the while trying to keep an eye on the budget. There is a fine line where you can’t compromise.”

Martin Audio’s DISPLAY prediction software was used to design a 56-cabinet WPM system consisting of a main L-R hang of 16 WPM per side, along with 10 WPM per side operating in two-box and one-box resolution modes. The array system is supported by six Martin Audio SX218 18-inch sub-bass speakers, with each driver individually processed and amplified. Despite challenges posed by rigging and structural steelwork, the CVAV team was able to hang a centre cluster and allow the steering of the sub-cluster.

“Once I saw it hang together in place, it was a dream moment for me,” comments Russo. “It’s extremely rare to get subs in that position in churches, where projectors, site lines and roof weight loadings often constrain you. This results in compromised= split left and right subs and the inevitable power alley and off-axis cancellations.”

For the choir stalls, CVAV selected eight individually amplified and processed CDD12 two-way cabinets from Martin Audio’s Coaxial CDD range, to ensure maximum coverage across the church. The main Allen & Heath S5000 dLive console also provides a tailored mix send depending on the needs of the choir. An eight-cabinet, 12-inch two-way delay system from Martin Audio’s BLX range was also installed to support the main system – while not essential, it enhances the overall experience for the rear of the congregation and optimises the coverage of the main arrays to the main seating area. There are also three CDD10 10-inch front stage apron speakers which provide coverage for the front of the congregation, and the stage is covered by a six-cabinet LE100 12-inch CDD foldback system. The main system processing is controlled by a Q-SYS Core 610 unit driving 17 Q-SYS 8K and 4K series QLAN amplifiers which were installed in two remote amplifier rack rooms. The 610 was chosen to provide reliability and sufficient processing power, especially with the large quality of FIR processing filters required, as well as to cater for the church’s future expansion plans. Netgear AV 4250 switches now handle all network traffic on Dante and QLAN protocols, and remote access is through a Lenovo NUC, which enables remote desktop access or reflect management from the Q-SYS servers.

The cable system uses both analogue and digital network feeds which run in parallel. With Q-SYS, two backup levels are in place – should a data cable be cut, spare A&B LAN lines are available. If there is a switch or core fault, Q-SYS allows all amplifiers to run in standalone mode. This means the analogue feed can take over, with enough onboard processing to ensure the service remains uninterrupted. Finally, a patch bay system was installed at every rack location for the main desk which allows any mixer or source to be substituted in an emergency.

“The complexity of the WHC system makes it challenging for users to identify faults, even with an engineering background,” adds Russo. “It’s nearly impossible to detect issues like one sub driver of 12 not working or the second box in a 16-way array is malfunctioning, particularly when the system is 12m in the air. However, detecting such faults can become significantly easier with the right software tools.”

Using Q-SYS, CVAV designed a touchscreen interface with specific test pages which allow WHC to conduct a stepped pink noise test on each speaker before the start of every service. Additionally, CVAV loaded a music library onto the Core 610 which provides staff with reference tracks to refer to when needed, while an on-screen button allows the start of the test sequence both visually and audibly which enables the operator to see a representation of the system and hear as each cabinet is checked, along with associated power meters and impedance readings. All Q-SYS amplifiers and peripherals are constantly monitored for health status and, if needed, email alerts are sent to TAG support in Australia. WHC principal sound engineers Siasailosi Dokonivalu and Kit Mateyawa had been using Allen & Heath iLive and SQ7 consoles for their live and broadcast operations for many years. Given the arrival of the new sound system, discussions were held on whether to upgrade the existing consoles to an A&H S5000 dLive console with a 48-channel Dante rack. After reviewing dLive’s workflow and 96kHz capability, CVAV was able to convince the church to invest in the console. TAG’s Andrew Crawford was tasked with providing training in Fiji, with more than 50 attendees from various CMFI churches across the island invited for an intensive fourday training course in Suva.

Despite a three-week timeline to coincide with Pastor Suliasi and the choir’s return from a tour in the United States, the installation was a complete success. The entire team – made up of CVAV and TAG staff along with church volunteers and 30 WHC crew members – battled sweltering heat and 90% humidity, working at 15m heights in full rigging harnesses.

With only a week left until D-Day, the team grew when Crawford arrived to provide dLive training for the local technicians and renowned electroacoustic expert David Gilfillan for system tuning and commissioning. Gilfillan spent four days meticulously analysing hundreds of computer measurements, double-checking each measurement and questioning everything, especially given the unusual space and system complexity. Russo points out that only experienced ears can make the final decision on system balance. “A half dB here or there, or a fine ratio adjustment on a compressor, can make all the difference. Wellengineered systems, if aligned correctly, respond to even the slightest changes. Even then you need to keep checking what you think you hear versus what the measurement mic shows you.”

Finally, the church was able to celebrate the completion of their new sound system, with many island dignitaries in attendance joined by thousands more on the livestream. In an emotional speech, Russo praised the church’s vision and stressed that this project was not about cutting-edge technology and outstanding quality, but the congregation could now truly appreciate the sound of their musicians, choir and preachers, and, more importantly, know that their production team now had new education and skills that were invaluable for their future.