In an audio system redesign that marks the complete transformation of a former cinema to a house of worship, the Faith Evangelical Free Church of Waterville, Maine is now equipped with a pair of JBL Professional CBT (Constant Bandwidth Technology) 70J column loudspeakers, each with three CBT 70JE extender cabinets.
After Faith Evangelical moved into the cinema space seven years ago, it was served only by a low-quality public address system. A deeply curved wall behind the stage dampened the sound even more, making it very difficult to hear anything on or off the stage.
Invited to consult and plan the new sound design, close friend of the church and owner of Maine Pro Audio Heidi Samuel recommended the JBL CBT loudspeakers.
“The CBT product is a great fit in terms of coverage and sound quality,” explains Samuel. “We were amazed at the smooth horizontal coverage and the well-defined vertical coverage. When fully extended with the CBT 70JE, we finally have a system that provides pattern control well down in the low voice range, which we would have never accomplished with the previous installation.”
One of the biggest challenges during the installation was the inner construction of the church. Multiple fabrications were engineered to ensure the safety of the congregants as well as proper equipment fit.
After determining the mount height of the CBT, contractors cut holes in the walls for subs and added blocking to the steel framing to further support the mounting brackets. An independent fabricator built the mounting brackets to allow for a few degrees leeway for horizontal aiming.
With limited space, the cabinets were assembled on the ground, as opposed to being constructed on the mounting bracket itself, and lifted into place.
“The CBT speakers can save many churches looking for an improved system from overspending on a system that extends far beyond their needs, while performing on par with systems that cost much more,” continues Samuel. “The CBT’s keep going, clear out of the far wall of the lobby, 120 feet away. If the wall wasn’t there, I’m sure you could hear them well into the yard, another 50 or 60 feet away.”
Using an SPL meter, there is only a 2 dB difference between the area directly under the loudspeaker and the rear of the auditorium, 80 feet away. The ratio between the highs and lows remains consistent and the two CBT arrays cover 100 percent of the seating area with zero front fills.
