The Serra Center worship space at Mission San Luis Rey church in Oceanside, CA, one of 21 missions originally built by the Spanish in California that opened in 1798 and is now a national historic landmark, was recently treated to an AV upgrade by Escondido-based Sound Image Integration that utilizings Martin Audio TORUS T820 constant curvature loudspeakers and supporting components.
Scott Coyle, business development manager for Sound Image Integration (now a part of Clair Global), explains that to keep the Serra Center worship space fully operable as it carries out community work, previously sympathetic budget decisions were undertaken. However, that was until a decision was made to reorientate the interior from its traditional long rectangular shape to bring the congregation — which can reach 1200 — closer to the altar. He notes that, “While it made more sense that way, the sound was compromised due to a succession of ceiling speakers.”
As a result, Coyle proposed TORUS T820 loudspeaker because, with the reconfiguration, the coverage space was far wide but the dramatically reduced depth. “We knew the focus needed to be principally the spoken word,” he adds. “However, at the same time they have large congregations attending their weekend masses when a full choir and band perform.”
An approach was made to Martin Audio product support engineer Will Harris, who set to work on a design. “When [the church] saw the visualization and coverage map of how the speakers would react within the room, they were truly wowed,” Coyle says.
Harris notes, “With such a beautiful and historic building I knew that the minimal visual footprint would be needed to get this done right and the TORUS T820 really fit the bill. We were able to get them well tucked away within the architecture of the building.”
The 100-degree horizontal and 20-degree vertical dispersion pattern of the T820 make it well suited for the short throw requirement within the space. Left/right flown pairs flank a central cluster of four T820 elements, while out wide on each wing, wall-mounted Martin Audio CDD10s provide optional out fill reinforcement, generally depending on whether the choir is in session. SX112 subwoofers to enhance the low end fit snugly into the existing cut-outs in the ceiling, while the entire rig is powered by a pair of matched iKON iK81 eight-channel amplifiers.
When it came to fine-tuning the system, Coyle said they were fortunate in that the room was not as “live” as is typical in what he terms as “an A-frame type of scenario. Harris undertook final system commissioning. “When he fired the system up, he looked at his screen, smiled and said, ‘This is why I love these boxes!’” reminisced Coyle. “Testament not only to the box but to our installation craftsmanship. This was a perfect project for the TORUS 8. The constant curvature systems just work so well together delivering even and seamless coverage across the entire room, while handling the entire frequency spectrum with very little effort.”
Kerey Quaid, the mission’s music director, concludes, “The new speakers and amplification system are a great improvement for both music and spoken word in our worship space. We have both clarity and bass (for the first time), and equally good sound for the whole congregation. Great equipment!”
