Philadelphia-based AV integration firm Legend Sound Systems recently deployed a new audio system centered on an Allen & Heath AHM processor joined by an SQ Series mixing console to meet multiple needs in an upgrade project at Chapel of the General Theological Seminary in Manhattan, NY.
“They needed a way to host two different types of services,” explains Bill Lyle, president of Legend Sound. “The seminary had daily traditional services each morning; requiring a very basic audio setup with a few wireless mics. Then on the weekends, they hosted more modern services with a full band. We needed to figure out a way to give the right control access to the right people.
“I didn’t want a seminary student with no training to be pushing faders on a mixing console,” he continues. “I also didn’t want the control to be dumbed down for trained audio engineers when they came in to mix on Sundays.”
Lyle’s research led him to the AHM platform, which offers processing as well as multi-zone routing with a variety of simplified control options. “Using an AHM-64 processor with a Dante module to feed directly to the amps, we had our traditional services covered,” he notes. For the modern weekend services, the integration team added a 48-channel SQ-5 mixing console that’s connected to the same Dante network using its own Dante module. An Allen & Heath AR2412 stagebox feeds inputs to both the AHM and SQ.
For the students to control the various microphones during daily services, Lyle created a custom mobile application using the Allen & Heath’s Custom Control. “The app interface only shows seven faders,” he says. “We also set it up so that each fader is limited to prevent the mics from being set too loud and creating feedback problems. It really worked out well.”
The AHM is configured so that each xone output fed a different loudspeaker, which allowed for more precise tuning in a difficult acoustic environment. “The walls are stone and the ceilings are 40 feet high,” explains Lyle. “There was a lot of careful tailoring required to get the sound right, and we were able to do that with AHM.”
“We’ve been thrilled by the setup at (General Theological Seminary),” says senior vice president Michael DeLashmutt. “We don’t have a professional AV team or even a single person who we can rely on for AV support from one semester to the next. The setup that (Legend Sound) provided for us, with the simplified tablet interface, gives us the sound quality that we needed, but without the complexity that would make running it unfeasible for our students, staff, or volunteers.”
“I prefer Allen & Heath products to any other products on the market,” Lyle concludes. “Not only are they good quality products, the service is unparalleled. If I ever have a problem, I can pick up the phone and I know it’s going to get fixed.”
