The first thing that visitors notice when they enter Faith Tabernacle United Church in Tuscon (Ariz), where Meyer Sound loudspeaker systems were recently installed, is the view. Directly behind the pulpit, the vast wall of glass looks out onto the majestic visage of Mount Lemmon and the Coronado National Forest, making for a breathtaking and inspiring visual.

With the installation of the Meyer Sound loudspeakers, the sound inside this stunningly beautiful architecture now matches the view. The church struggled for years with out-of-control reverberance, until it turned to the Tempe, Ariz. offices of Sound Image for help.

And as Eric Johnson of Sound Image explains, the church’s new system has gone a long way in addressing the room’s issues. “The room had a tremendous amount of upper-midrange reflectivity, and intelligibility was next to nil when the music got going,” says Johnson.

“The ceiling is at least as challenging as the glass wall,” he adds, describing the 25-foot high wood ceiling, with its massive beams and deep, reverberant pockets. “The room still needs some acoustic treatment, and they’re aware of that, but the Meyer Sound system has already made a tremendous difference.”

Todd Stuve, Faith Tabernacle’s lead audio tech, says the church had tried more than once to address the room’s challenges. “Actually, this is our fifth system, and we got it right this time,” Stuve says. “The Meyer Sound system has a really tight focus, and that’s gone a long way toward eliminating the reflections on the walls and ceiling.”

The 1,200-seat sanctuary has been equipped with three CQ-1 loudspeakers and three UPJ-1P VariO loudspeakers, all strategically hung for optimized coverage. Low frequencies are handled by a pair of 700-HP subwoofers, and a Galileo loudspeaker management system provides critical system processing.

Stuve says the new Meyer Sound system represents a major first step in making Faith Tabernacle’s sanctuary sound as good as it looks. “The room is a challenge, but the new system has given us a major leap in sound quality,” he says. “The sonic clarity just blows me away. I’m very, very impressed.”

For more information:
Meyer Sound Website