"Acoustically, it’s a pretty decent space,” notes Johnson. “The structural design is divided in such a way that hard, reflective surfaces are non-consequential. Rather, these facets work to break up standing waves and flutter echo quite effectively. As a result, we didn’t see need for acoustical treatment.”

A loft spanning a good portion of the rear of the room serves as home to all sound and lighting control devices, with plenty of room for expansion to accommodate future system growth. However - and by design - it offers no additional seating.

The church features both traditional and more contemporary worship styles, often within the same service. Piano, choir, organ and spoken word are staples, joined frequently by electric bass, keyboards drums and even a grand piano. “It’s not usually what you would call full electric, but more acoustically oriented,” Johnson explains. “They’re not looking to raise the roof, but attain a full, more pure acoustic signature that sounds very natural within the space.”

The design process began with consideration of all of these factors, and then Johnson moved on to acoustical modeling of the space. He generally uses EASE and AcoustaQWIK software – the case here – due primarily to its accurate prediction capabilities and ease of use.

The main loudspeaker design concept fixed on a single central array that would deliver all coverage. The room is too wide for a practical stereo approach, and a left-center-right array scheme would have driven up cost significantly, while also complicating operation. Aesthetics were another consideration.

“The central array approach, using full-range loudspeakers, would meet all needs with respect to dynamic, full-bandwidth performance and in terms of complete coverage,” Johnson adds. “A single, point-source output approach in this type of room and application often is the most effective option in attaining a natural signature, and you also have far less radiating energy sources that need to be kept under control.”

Over the past five years, Johnson and Kingdom Sound & Lighting have utilized Renkus-Heinz loudspeakers in an increasing number of projects, to the point where it’s now the vast majority of the time. “We’ve been more than pleased with Renkus-Heinz products, across the board,” Bartelt says. “They sound very natural, which is always a primary goal with our systems. And we really like the high-frequency characteristic, which is always present but without harshness.”

Four Renkus-Heinz TRAP loudspeakers form the main array providing mono coverage to the entire room.

Injecting his own insight into the modeling process, Johnson selected Renkus-Heinz TRAP40K Series three-way loudspeakers, which offer a 40-degrees horizontal coverage pattern that fit this particular coverage area very well. In addition, the specific models selected, called TRAP40/7K, supply 75-degrees (plus 30 degrees and minus 45 degrees) asymmetrical vertical coverage. In relation to the location of the array and the shape of the room, this coverage pattern helps direct energy on seating areas while keeping it off surrounding walls.