The third oldest Roman Catholic church in Belfast, the architecturally-superb St. Malachy’s, was recently restored.
The work included not only brick and plasterwork, a marble altar, mosaic floor and fan-vaulted ceiling, but a new sound system as well thanks to QSC.
A pair of sleek white polystyrene QSC AcousticDesign AD-S282H 2-way loudspeakers, yoke-mounted vertically onto the sanctuary walls on either side of the altar, provide the dispersion for both the gallery and ground floor seating tiers, while a pair of outfacing high-output AD-S82H 2-way loudspeakers (using the IntelliDock intelligent mounting system) extend coverage to the wrap-around side pews.
The low impedance system is backed up by a 100V line recessed ceiling speaker system which also ensures even coverage at the back and out in the entrance foyer, and all presets are stored in a rack-mount mixer in the vestry so that the officiating clergy need only to adjust the levels.
Installation contractor Gary McElveen said, “The church is extremely wide and narrow, with a gallery that virtually overlooks the altar,” said McElveen. “In the 23 years I have been in the business, I have never fitted out a church shaped like this — it was far from being the usual rectangle.”
This McElveen’s first experience with a QSC system, he remarked, “I have never heard a PA sound as well as when we turned this on — it was crystal clear.”
Rev. Fr. Martin Graham CC also professed happiness with the sound, especially at the lack of slapback, despite the lack absorption their stone floor provided.
