A K-array loudspeaker system has been installed at Canterbury Cathedral by Whitwam AVI, vastly improving the intelligibility of the spoken word over that offered by the failing sound reinforcement system that had been in use since the 1970s.
With the Lambeth Conference was due to be held in the summer of 2020, the cathedral began talks with A/V system consultant Michael Hyland & Associates to identify the requirements for a replacement. Plans to upgrade in July were subsequently delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, however, but eventually put out to tender.
Whitwam AVI submitted the winning proposal and, together with Dave Wooster at K-array UK distributor 2B Heard, worked on modelling a new system for the Quire using K-Framework software. The key objective was to deliver sound more accurately at the choir stalls, since the previous speaker system was aimed horizontally at a height of 4m, and consequently the sound was flying around the building and developing multiple unwanted reflections.
The solution lay in the use of a number of small Tornado-KT2 loudspeakers mounted on custom brackets between the crenelations of the Eastery Screen, aimed downwards towards the choir stalls. A pair of Rumble-KU44 subs mounted on custom brackets behind grilles at floor level, with a further pair in the stonework towards the presbytery, lift the bottom end of the speech vocal range. These are powered by Kommander-KA14 and KA02 amplifiers from the equipment rack located in a loft overlooking the quire.
‘Given that we couldn’t fix anything to the fabric of the building we had to design custom brackets for the speakers,’ says Whitwam AVI Director, Andrew Pymm. ‘Fortunately the Tornados are dimensioned perfectly to fit between the crenelations with all the cabling hidden in a channel behind the wall. Their 90° conical dispersion gave us just the right coverage pattern to be able to focus at the ears of those people sitting in the choir stalls without significant overspill.
‘We had a reasonably clear run at the installation process as we were just coming out of the pandemic so as a result public access to the building was limited and the worst of the supply chain issues hadn’t really hit us, and this meant that we could move pretty rapidly in getting the speakers installed and cabled up,’ he continues. ‘We had done a trial with these speakers previously and along with the K-Framework modelling we knew what to reasonably expect, but we were pleasantly surprised at just how good the K-arrays sound in-situ. Despite a near-three second reverberation time, the spoken word is as clear as a bell and the coverage is beyond our expectations.’
‘It’s been a game changer, not only in the quality and clarity of the audio, but also the aesthetic improvement brought about by incorporating modern technology into this beautiful, unique, medieval setting,’ reports Gerardo Calia heads the A/V support team at the cathedral. ‘I was somewhat sceptical that such small units, such discreet drivers, could supply the power required for a fairly vast space and also deliver the quality necessary for an iconic institution that hosts performances by world-renowned musicians. I need not have been concerned; the K-array system performs superbly. Whitwam and Michael Hyland have brought their extraordinary experience, their technical excellence and the very highest quality of systems integration to this wonderful building.’
‘K-array ticked all the boxes here – I don’t know what other speaker system we could have chosen that would have the power, clarity and projection to do the job,’ adds Pymm.
