The worship sanctuary on the sixth campus of Austin Stone Church (ASC) in Texas, added by the church in 2020, has undergone an AV upgrade that includes d&b audiotechnik loudspeakers implemented by Brown Note Productions (Thornton, CO) to deliver main and fill coverage to the 830-seat space.
“This campus is being outfitted to become their primary broadcast campus along with offering regular Sunday services,” explains Zach Richards, Director of Integration, Brown Note Productions. “They also plan on hosting a wide variety of other events including conferences, performances and special gatherings. ASC is set up to offer multi-site simulcast of the main sermon (lead pastor is streamed from one campus to all other campuses live) as well as live streaming services.”
Contemporary worship services in the sanctuary, offered twice weekly, typically involve seven musicians/vocalists (drums, keys, guitars, bass and playback) joined by three lead vocalists). “The main challenge with this install was the raked, fan shape of the space and trying to deliver a similar experience to every seat,” explains Ryan Robertson, Production Audio Manager, Austin Stone Church. “The previous system was an old clustered point source system that really did a poor job of that; you could move what felt like five feet in any direction and have a very different experience.
“One of our main objectives with any of our new venues is to give each person that attends the same experience, whether in the front row or way back in the corner,” Robertson continues. “No other manufacturer does as good of a job of that than d&b, in my opinion. Every system really does follow the ‘more art, less noise’ motto by putting sound only where it needs to go, especially when ArrayProcessing is deployed. I always feel confident when mixing on a well deployed d&b system that what I’m mixing at front of house is being heard and felt in essentially every seat in the venue. This install is no exception. On top of that, there is a clarity and sonic signature of d&b that fits perfectly with the style of music we are mixing and is highly preferred.”
Specifically, the main system incorporates eight Y8 and and eight more Y12 line array enclosures running proprietary Array Processing joined by a trio of J-SUBs subwoofers on the ground flanked by a d&b J-INFRA sub on each end. Fill coverage is supplied by a combination of E6, Y10P, and Y7P loudspeakers, with audio power supplied by eight 30D amplifiers joined by a single 10D amplifier.
The system also utilizes a new DiGiCo S31 console at front of house with Dante I/O and Focusrite AES interface. A Q-SYS Control system utilizing a d&b plugin helps provide AV system control and automation, allowing for “self-serve” AV modes for a wide variety of uses, and Avid Pro Tools Dante-enabled broadcast package is provided for livestream and post-production use.
“The new d&b system sounds fantastic,” Robertson concludes. “The power and clarity of the system really draws you in as a listener. It was fun to see the reactions and smiles on the face of our leadership team as they listened to it for the first time. Their main reaction was how intelligible everything was. They felt like they could actually hear distinctly everything that was happening in the mix, not just a wall of sound. The band has said they have a new level of confidence in what they play and sing and that it is accurately being conveyed into the room. It makes them that much more excited to get up early on a Sunday and lead our people.”
