The 3,400-capacity worship sanctuary at Mt. Zion Church in Clarkston, MI, which hosts services with contemporary praise music joined by spoken word/sermons in addition to concerts and other large community events, was recently outfitted with a new sound reinforcement system utilizing a variety of ISP Technologies loudspeakers and subwoofers.
The new system replaces a predecessor that had proven incapable of cleanly producing the desired SPL for concerts in addition to inconsistent coverage of the seating area and uneven frequency response. In addition to the poor performance, the configuration didn’t provide a simple means to allow guest engineers to interface their consoles with the house system.
“We are thrilled to have been chosen by Mt. Zion church for this installation,” says Buck Waller, CEO of ISP Technologies. “Our team is dedicated to creating innovative audio gear that exceeds our clients’ expectations, and this project is a testament to the trust that Mt. Zion church has placed in our capabilities. We look forward to enhancing their worship experience through our advanced audio solutions.”
The new system is comprised of 10 HDL3112 line array cabinets per side in a left/right stereo configuration complimented by eight XMAX-218HO subwoofers placed into newly constructed bunkers under the stage lip. The installation process was handled by BC Sound of Battle Creek, MI.
System control and processing is accomplished via QSC Q-SYS, with a custom touchscreen user interface allowing the loudspeaker system to be reconfigured for different use-cases. With the tap of a button, the loudspeakers can be zoned to cover the entire seating area, or remove areas completely from coverage (such as the upper balcony) when not needed. There are also presets to allow users to run the subwoofers from the main left/right mix or from an aux/matrix.
“With our old system, many of our congregation members would complain to me about the sound in the room. They either could not hear it or it was very ‘harsh’ sounding,” says front of house engineer Mike Strange. “With the new ISP system, I can tell the membership is much more engaged during praise and worship. The low end is full and there is a good amount of clarity in the mids. It has a very clean, professional and smooth vocal sound.
Mario Irungaray, Mt Zion tech support, adds, “The ISP system allows us to increase the bass and mid-range, providing both clarity and the ability to distinguish between the different instruments on the track. As the sound engineer, I was able to adjust the mix of the system based on reading the audience and observing their engagement in the performance. The fullness of the system allows the audience to get excited about the performance and feel the music. I only used 80 percent of the headroom for this performance. I was able to push the system and still have clarity of sound. I also work with the touring artists and their sound engineers are amazed at the amount of headroom available in the system.”
