In the world of sound system design and installation, there’s an old adage that states, “Your system is only as good as the weakest component in the signal chain.”
This is especially true of a sound system’s loudspeakers. They are the last link in the chain and are directly responsible for communicating everything that’s been done to the signal along the way.
One thing’s for sure: if your church audio system sounds lousy, the listening audience will automatically shift their gaze first upon the loudspeakers, viewing them as the primary culprit whether they are at fault or not.
And indeed, loudspeakers are one of the most important aspects of a system. Going beyond simply delivering sound into a room, they actually become a living physical element, dynamically interacting with their surroundings.
In other words, what you’re usually hearing from a loudspeaker is more than its output, you’re also hearing what’s happening to that output as it travels through the space.
As Jon Baumgartner, a veteran system designer for Sound Solutions in Coralville, IA, points out, “the loudspeaker(s) are selected to provide pattern coverage over the entire seating area without putting acoustic energy on the walls, floor or ceiling.”
“When we put sound on people, it is largely absorbed and only minimal reflections continue elsewhere in their journey about the room,” he adds. “But when the pattern coverage is poorly designed, putting acoustic energy on highly reflective surfaces such as walls, floors and ceilings, the reflected sound can pass the listener’s ears several times, creating a lack of enunciation and speech intelligibility.
More Than One Answer
A wide range of quality professional loudspeakers, produced by an equally wide range of manufacturers, are available for house of worship sound systems.
Selecting the “right” loudspeakers for a given system and room is no simple matter, and there can be more than one “right” answer.
The type of programming featured in worship services is one issue; the acoustical nature of the space is another.
Budgetary issues are almost always an important factor influencing loudspeaker selection. Aesthetics are yet another concern.
The only certainty is that every project is different and needs to be treated as such.
That’s why there’s a constantly growing selection of loudspeaker types available for church applications. Gerry Tschetter of QSC Audio provides the following rundown.
Columns. A loudspeaker system typically consisting of identical smaller drivers arranged vertically in a single enclosure. These can work well with speech, and are small and visually unobtrusive.
Some models even have advanced digital signal processing that allow their output to be “steered” or more precisely focused on the coverage area.
Point-source. A single loudspeaker system of two- or three-way design. These provide very good coherence compared to multi-box systems (assuming the single box is well-designed), and present a huge variety of configurations, performance levels and price-points.
But they may not be capable of achieving the needed coverage or acoustical output for larger facilities and/or more “rocking” services.
Distributed. Multiple (usually smaller format) loudspeakers spread about the coverage area. These are usually used in conjunction with a main Front of House system to provide supplemental coverage to areas that are hard to reach otherwise.
They may be a winning solution for acoustically difficult or irregularly shaped spaces, but can be complicated to install and require a good deal of digital signal processing and deft tuning.
Clusters. Arrays of point-source loudspeaker systems, perhaps including individual horns or low-frequency boxes. This is a very flexible option in achieving the desired coverage, and can provide high-acoustic output.
However, they often require a skilled system design to work well, and sometimes are not very visually appealing. They may be placed behind scrim.
Coherence can be compromised, and cost can be significant.
Line Arrays. Multi-way loudspeaker systems that are specifically designed to be deployed in vertical arrays. Over the past decade or so, line arrays have become very popular for church sound applications.
They offer good flexibility in achieving the desired coverage, very high acoustic output, and good coherence when properly deployed.
The downside is that the arrays can be quite large and may not blend well with décor, and because many loudspeakers are required, cost can add up pretty quickly.
Powering Options
In addition, the field of loudspeakers equipped with their own power and processing (commonly called self-powered) has expanded much of late.
When well designed, these can deliver extremely good performance because all the elements can be optimized to work well together, and because they’re “closed systems” there is less chance of unauthorized adjustments being made that will degrade system performance.
Self-powered loudspeakers can also reduce or eliminate the need for rack rooms and long, expensive cable runs.
But even as the field expands, there are fewer available choices than non-powered loudspeakers, and AC power must be brought to the loudspeaker location(s).
With proper planning this is easily done for new construction, but it may be a bigger undertaking for retrofits.
With all of these choices and factors (and more) in play, selecting loudspeakers for a church system can be a daunting task to say the least.
The following suggestions are intended to help point you in the right direction, no matter what type of loudspeaker you’re evaluating.
It’s also highly recommended that you work with qualified sound system consultants and/or contractors to insure optimum results, both in terms of selection as well as proper (and safe!) installation.
Decide on standards of comparison. Next to great sound (which is a subjective decision), determine what is most important to you. Size, price, reliability?
Before you begin listening evaluations, narrow the field to a few systems. This list of candidates should be as closely equivalent to each other as possible with regard to the criteria that you determine as most important in your purchasing decision.
Use familiar material. If possible, try to arrange for a live comparison of your leading loudspeaker candidates in the space where they’ll be used, or at least a space with similar characteristics.
Clergy and lay celebrants should speak through the system – when listening, determine which loudspeaker sounds closest to the natural vocal signature of the people talking.
With music, choose selections you’re familiar with, and ones that mirror the types of music featured at your services.
Use your ears, not your eyes. As you look at your potential loudspeaker choices, you’ll soon discover that manufacturers use a wide range of measurement standards when creating specifications for their loudspeakers.
By all means, read the product literature – it can sometimes offer valuable information. But remember, listening to comparable systems is the only test of actual performance.
Use your feet as well as your ears. You’ll start out standing right in front of the loudspeaker, but most of the audience will not be sitting there – they spread out far and wide.
You need to hear how the sound changes as you move to the side, above and below, close up and far away. Ask your contractor how much of the space the system is intended to cover, then walk that space as you listen.
Listen to your collaborators. Most people can easily recognize a “good” loudspeaker system. Natural, undistorted sound makes a distinctive impression on which you and the other members of your building committee can agree.
Focus on the voice. The spoken word should be reproduced as naturally as possible to accurately convey full content and emotion.
Choose carefully and don’t be afraid to voice your opinion when selecting loudspeakers. If you don’t like what you’re hearing during the demonstration process, resist the temptation to settle for second-best, and keep trying.
Eventually you, your peers and your contractor/consultant will agree on the right solution for your church’s specialized needs.
Sage Counsel
Many manufacturers also offer very good technical services and support departments, a valuable resource as you sort through the possibilities. Numerous manufacturers provided us with great input in the course of preparing this article, and we present a few of their comments here.
“Use the knowledge of a good consultant or design/build firm whose reputation is known in the community,” advises Kent Morris, an audio consultant for Peavey Electronics. “Manufacturer websites can also be solid resources for information on what type of loudspeakers are available, what advantages they bring and how you can specify the best system for the venue and application.”
Stéphane Ecalle, director of marketing at L-Acoustics, adds, “Every church is unique, and so is its sound design approach. Gather information from other users, consult local integrators who can service you rapidly, and consult a serious integrator with references.”
The final word goes to Peter Child, applications engineer at Martin Audio: “Visual appearance, frequency response, coverage angles, power handling and cost are all factors that are considered during the selection of loudspeakers, though for the client, cost is usually high up the list.
“With loudspeakers (as with most other things) you only get what you pay for, and high quality, performance and reliability do not come cheap.”
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