Leading AV system provider Electro Acoustics of Fort Worth, TX recently implemented a variety of K-array loudspeakers as part of an upgraded audio approach for the sanctuary at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Windthorst, TX.
“I was immediately impressed with the beauty of the room, and knew the solution would require discrete loudspeakers to not distract from the worshipfulness of the church,” explains Chris Jordan, president of Electro Acoustics.
Another challenge was implementing a solution to deliver enhanced intelligibility in a very reverberant environment that, like many traditional Catholic churches, is most defined by reflective surfaces, many of them parallel. Jordan notes that the RT60 time of the room comes in at about 2.5 seconds.
The Electro Acoustics engineering team, lead by Clay Huston, made the decision to use a pair of K-array KP102 loudspeakers, one mounted to either side of the proscenium arch, joined by a corner-mounted KMT18P subwoofer.
The location of the KP102s allows them to deliver direct coverage to all main floor sanctuary seats, with their slim profile and matching paint allowing them to blend in with the surrounding architecture.
In addition, a pair of K-array KP-52 loudspeakers and KMT-18P subwoofers were deployed for the choir, located to the far side of the platform, helping sound maintain a directional realism within the space.
And, K-array KK-52 loudspeakers serve as choir monitors, and they also provide a bit of fill in that region. And, the installation team, lead by Kasey Cummings of Electro Acoustics, also mounted K-array Tornado compact loudspeakers to bolster reinforcement in the sanctuary’s upper balcony as well as to distributed audio to the adjacent “cry room.”
“The church was delighted not only with the huge difference in speech clarity, but also in the care in which the system was installed,” Jordan concludes.
