BELFAST, IRELAND––Magheralin Parish Church, located 20 miles south of Belfast, is the first installation in Ireland to benefit from Martin Audio’s innovative new OmniLine micro-line array system.
As with many rural areas in Ireland, large churches sprang up in the late 19th Century during the Ulster revival period; and although originally built in 699 AD, Magheralin was rebuilt in 1891.
The Parish Church first approached Rea Sound in December 2007 to discuss the possibility of installing a new PA and visual system. After numerous meetings, site visits and a tender process, Rea Sound was awarded the contract.
The original sound specification was for the Martin Audio Blackline Series as the preferred speaker system— but it soon became clear that the new OmniLine was the better way forward. Rea Sound were also aware that this would be the first OmniLine install in a church anywhere in the UK or Ireland—and possibly Europe.
After a demonstration to the consultant, it was agreed that the OmniLine system would provide a perfect solution for the church. An important factor was the sensitivity of the installation to the building and its ornate stonework and delicate fabrics.
Following a full sound study using the OmniLine software the optimum position was calculated. The furniture was designed, agreed to and built locally, then subsequently fitted in early August, allowing Rea Sound to begin the installation.
Getting the proper setup was challenging in terms of positioning the OmniLine—but due to the flexibility of the speakers, they were able to adjust the height of install and the angles of the arrays to gain secure fixings.
Powered from a single Martin Audio MA1400 power amp and a DX1 system controller, the OmniLine provides exceptional sound quality throughout the church. The Chancel is provided for by way of two AQ5’s for infills. The church is extremely happy with the design and look of the speaker cabinets and the overall sound coverage.
Like many churches today, Magheralin is using more and more live praise instruments, necessitating an Allen & Heath GL2400 32-channel desk located in the rear left hand side of the church, situated in the newly created technical area, to provide main PA mixing.
At the center of the visual installation lies the eight ft-wide projection screen above the pulpit with three additional 42-inch LCD screens to cover the choir and outlying areas. A 5500Lmi projector has been discreetly installed to provide the image for the main screen, while the sources for the images are the installed computer and full function dome camera. All the imagery is handled in HD quality and is processed and controlled / switched by Kramer devices.
Martin Audio...www.martin-audio.com
