Founded by the Daughters of Charity in 1862, Saint Agnes Hospital is a full-service teaching hospital in Baltimore, MD. As part of a recent expansion program, Saint Agnes renovated its chapel, retaining historic features like a circular stained glass window while adding new marble floors as well as a new audio system headed by a Community Professional ENTASYS loudspeaker.
Joe Schwartz of HP Electronics in Baltimore handled the project, contacted by Anne Buening, vice president of Mission Integration at Saint Agnes.
“I ‘d worked with Anne on another church sound project using ENTASYS,” notes Schwartz, “and I knew it could do the job despite the acoustic difficulties presented by the new marble floors and painted walls.”
His calculations showed that a single ENTASYS loudspeaker, mounted to a side wall at the front of the space, would cover the entire chapel well.
Painted white, the loudspeaker blends into the surroundings, and the approach also allowed Schwartz to avoid a challenging wiring path on the the other side of the room. The new system was rounded out with amplification and DSP, as well as a pair of wireless microphones and a gooseneck mic for the lectern.
The new system was finished in time for a special “Healing Hands” ceremony honoring three physicians in December. “I was very pleased with the results,” Schwartz says. “The single ENTASYS is discrete yet it covers the chapel very well and we were able to complete the job within the hospital’s budget. The affordability of the entire ENTASYS 200 Series is unprecedented for this level of loudspeaker.”
