Bright Christian Church in Lawrenceburg, IN found they had both the need and the opportunity to upgrade its AV systems during the COVID pandemic. After working successfully with nearby ClearSound Design to enable streaming worship services, the church decided to retain the firm to address its need to upgrade the building’s legacy sound system with solutions from Electro-Voice and Dynacord.
Worship director Ashley Grigsby oversaw the project for the church. “Basically, we wanted to improve the quality of sound throughout the sanctuary, both in terms of fidelity and coverage,” she explained. “We trusted ClearSound to help us reach our goals.”
“Over the past 25 years, there were architectural changes to the room along with a move to a more contemporary music presentation,” explained president Bill Hinds of ClearSound Design. “Our assignment was to design a new, more musical system within a fairly modest budget.”
[Streaming Services: Houses of Worship and the Online Experience]
ClearSound system integrator Brock Fowler took on the task of designing the new system. “It’s a very wide room, but there were coverage issues that the old system never addressed,” he noted. “We also wanted to clean up the sound by flying the subwoofers. We knew from experience that the EVAs would provide world-class musical performance with the coverage options we needed—all with a clean, modern appearance—which was exactly what the church was hoping for.”
Designed with a focus on house of worship applications, the Electro-Voice EVA (Expandable Vertical Array) features a compact form factor with two array elements per cabinet, available in several dispersion patterns. For Bright Christian Church, full coverage was attained with just two hangs of four EVA-2082S cabinets per side, deploying two 90x6-degree boxes above two wider-dispersion 90x20-degree models. No fill speakers were required. To address coverage differences between the left and right sides of the room, one array was splayed slightly outward. Smooth, deep bass reinforcement is provided by two EVA-2151D subwoofers flown together in the center. The entire system is powered by three Dynacord C3600FDi DSP power amplifiers.
[Running from Fears in Pro AV]
ClearSound Design achieved full coverage with minimal fuss. “We used EVA system design tools to dial-in the predicted dispersion pattern,” explained Fowler. “When it was later decided to ensure clean sightlines for those standing in the back, we did have to make some adjustments. Fortunately, we found we could still achieve full, even coverage by raising the arrays a couple feet and adjusting the angles.”
Another key upgrade was the Dynacord MXE5 Matrix Mix Engine. “We used SONICUE software to optimize the loudspeakers, then programmed them in pairs to create independent zones via the MXE5,” explained Fowler. “For access, we added a pair of wall-mounted Dynacord TPC-1 touch panel controllers. So, for a smaller gathering that just wants to use a single microphone on the left side of the room, they can quickly and easily customize the system for their needs.”
The installation was completed in time for Christmas services—the perfect time to unveil a new sound system. According to Hinds, “The annual Christmas show was their first listen to the new system, and I knew it was a night-and-day change. I was there and could see it on their faces as the congregation walked in with music playing. That was a great feeling for all of us.” Since then, both the church team and the congregation have continued to enjoy their enhanced audio experience: “The improvement in sound quality is a major upgrade,” added Grigsby, “and our team loves the fact that the sound is now balanced throughout the room. We’re thrilled with the new system.”
