- The sound upgrade project of the Olive Baptist Church features loudspeakers from EAW.PENSACOLA, FL-The sound reinforcement system of Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola, FL, has been improved to better serve a myriad of needs-with improved intelligibility as the number one goal. The sound upgrade project was a collaboration of systems provider All Pro Sound of Pensacola and the church technical group, headed by AV specialist Kelly Ward.
- The original mid/high loudspeakers installed to serve as the mains were flown in a left-right configuration more than 50 feet above the main floor, covered by a scrim. These loudspeakers have been re-purposed, where they now flank two new EAW KF730 compact line arrays to serve as the centerpiece of a left-center-right loudspeaker approach.
- Each of the new line arrays is comprised of eight KF730 boxes, with the bottom portion of each array pulled gently upward to focus coverage on the front seating rows. In between these two full-range arrays is another single array made up of four EAW SB730 flying subwoofers, with the low-frequency energy from this array "steered" downward with digital signal processing.
- "These arrays have plenty of throw for an application, perfect for wider 3,000-5,000-seat spaces. The horizontal overlap is also so smooth, and is incredible in how tightly it can be controlled," Taylor said.
- With the main loudspeakers located so high above the main floor, dual EAW UB42 compact loudspeakers were installed within the platform steps in order to pull the sonic image down, helping to match it with the people on stage. These loudspeakers are carefully time aligned with the mains in order to seamlessly achieve their purpose.
Members of the Olive Baptist Church sound team (from left): Kelly Ward and Dr. Leo Day of Olive Baptist Church, and Bobby Taylor of All Pro Sound.
In the interests of dynamic full-range capability combined with the overall goal of very tight intelligibility, dual EAW BH622 horn-loaded subwoofers occupy each corner of the platform, paired up in corner areas for additional energy coupling. Meanwhile, single EAW UB82 compact full-range loudspeakers were added to "flanking" side walls of the platform-and stained to match the décor of their surroundings-to supply a bit more mid-high boost to raked seating zones on the extreme sides of the main floor.
This entire loudspeaker set is tied together with six BSS Soundweb 8088 digital processors offering plenty of DSP horsepower. All Pro Sound also networked these units, and they interface with a computer at the sound system house mix/control position in the worship center. This allows Ward and other technicians to remotely monitor and control the system without having to travel all the way to the upstage-left equipment room.
"The graphic user interface that All Pro has provided on this networked processing is great. I can easily access presets and other system parameters right from the house console," Ward noted.
