A recommendation brought houses of worship specialist integrator Avenue Systems to the aid of the Grace Community Church in the Cranberry Township of Pennsylvania to overcome the limitations of its audio, video and lighting systems to create a modern worship experience.
Avenue Systems’ Director of Client Relations, Terry Rhodes, specified a Wavefront Precision WPM small-format line array from Martin Audio as his preferred sound reinforcement solution to improve coverage consistency and control. The WPM rig – eight boxes per side – is paired with five SX218 subwoofers, powered by a Martin Audio process-controlled, Dante-enabled iKon iK81 amplifier. The subs and six CDD5 front fills are driven by a pair of 44M20 four-channel amplifiers, from Martin Audio sister company, Linea Research. The subs are set in a bunker and splayed across the front of the stage in an arc.
Rhodes had no hesitation in arriving at this solution: ‘We had done a couple of facilities in the last couple of years where we had deployed WPM satisfactorily,’ he says. ‘And there was enough similarity in this space – it was just a case of modelling it to verify that it confirmed our expectations.
‘Martin Audio was one of the first lines that we picked up as an organisation,’ he continues. ‘ I’ve been with the company seven and half years and we’ve had it as long as I’ve been here; in fact, one of the installations that we did immediately prior to me arriving was our first WPM install.’
The installation process was far from straightforward, however, as the church set out to enlarge the sanctuary. ‘One of the challenges we faced was that the wall needed to be blown out and the room “turned” to create a new auditorium out of the existing space. Whereas previously the stage platform was in a corner, when they blew out the wall, they increased the length and installed raked seating in the back third.’
During this process, the church needed a temporary worship solution, and Avenue Systems implemented a set-up in the lobby, transforming it into a smaller secondary venue while the main auditorium was under construction.
‘I well remember the first time I heard about possibly installing Martin Audio equipment in our building project,’ says church pastor, Matt Helmstadter. ‘We had chosen a different PA system in the initial design, but Terry went through all the benefits of Martin Audio and felt it was better suited for our project and a better value. He had a great relationship with Martin Audio – I totally trusted his judgement and was happy to make the switch.
‘As usual, the project did not go as planned with the building contractors and steel beams for the arrays were installed 8ft-10ft away from the original design – which could potentially cause issues with the way Avenue designed the PA system to work. But they were able to work with what they had in front of them and the room sounded amazing.
‘The first soundcheck was an uncompressed version of ‘Hotel California’, and every contractor in earshot came in to listen. From that moment on, we were convinced we made the right decision and have been totally happy with the performance and experience Martin Audio has given our congregation and people who join us every weekend.’
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