A recent renovation at Bartow Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Rydal, Georgia, provided Knoxville-based systems integrator Dynamic Audio Visual Systems its first opportunity to use products from both Frenetik and Superlux. Completion of the project has impressed the team by both as well as the service received from distributor Avlex.
Founded in 1869, Bartow Cumberland Presbyterian is a small church serving its community both in person and online. The red brick church lost its roof and sustained considerable damage after a fire three years ago, leading to a modernisation project including a new audio system. However, this didn’t perform to the level expected, and left some of the congregation struggling to hear services inside the 30ft by 35ft sanctuary.
Dynamic Audio Visual Systems was called in to provide a fresh perspective on the sound. ‘I knew that we needed to do some sort of column array just to provide good, even coverage,’ says Dynamic Audio Visual Systems’ James Denmon. This led him to Spik 2c column loudspeakers from French company Frenetik.
While the form factor and white finish suited this the application, there was a further reason behind the selection: ‘The church was built with concrete walls which affects the installation,’ explains Denmon. ‘I had to think about how many wires we were pulling and the number and size of the holes we’d have to make. The Frenetik speakers are PoE, so we could pull one cable that handles signal and power.’
The Spik 2c were wall-mounted at the front of the church, on either side of the altar and paired with the manufacturer’s Wall Sub on the floor on each side. ‘I wasn’t looking for a thumping sub, I just wanted to expand the frequency range,’ says Denmon. ‘I knew the speech would be very, very clear, but it’s very natural sounding. And acoustic music particularly sounds really, really good through them.’
At the other end of the signal chain, the Taiwan-made Superlux microphones provide a discreet yet capable meant of providing consistent pickup for when the church streams its services. The church wanted to ensure that announcements made from anywhere in the sanctuary could be heard clearly by congregants joining from home via the stream. To achieve this, Dynamic Audio Visual Systems installed four E324W boundary mics in the ceiling to cover the whole sanctuary.
‘It works very well,’ Denmon reports. ‘They are about an inch in diameter, white and flush mount into the ceiling, so they are just perfect. Anything that is said in that room can absolutely be heard via the stream, and that was the goal.’
An SMK-H8K stereo set of electret condenser mics are also part of the set-up, with the matched pair used for the church’s piano. ‘The stereo set for the piano was a good solution that works well to pick up the musicality and share that through the stream,’ Denmon says.
With everything installed, both Denmon and the church have been delighted with the way the new system has enhanced the sound in the sanctuary. ‘I would definitely use Frenetic and Superlux equipment again,’ Denmon says. ‘The people at the church have told me that wherever they go in the room, it sounds the same. And that is what I want to hear.’
‘This is exactly the type of project where Frenetik and Superlux products really excel,’ adds Avlex COO, Philip Van Peborgh. ‘James is known for the quality of the work he and his team produce, so having Dynamic Audio Visual Systems trusting Avlex and our brands to deliver the results they need was hugely beneficial. I’m proud that we could offer the right solutions to give Bartow Cumberland Presbyterian Church the sound quality its congregation needed, and back this up with the kind of service that Dynamic Audio Visual Systems deserves.