After 17 years of service, it recently came time to overhaul the sound reinforcement system in the sanctuary of New Life Christian Ministries in order for it to keep pace with the church’s ambitious programs.
Lee Hartman and Sons of Roanoke, VA, a design/build firm providing A/V solutions, was contracted to handle New Life Christian Ministries’ sound system revitalization, utilizing line arrays and loudspeakers from Greensboro, NC-based WorxAudio Technologies.
“The original system was mounted up in the soffit over the stage area and the speakers themselves were positioned in the wall,” explained Mike Giammona, Systems Consultant for Lee Hartman and Sons. “This design created enormous dead spots throughout the sanctuary.
“The space is roughly 50 feet deep and 125 feet wide. With the rounded stage/altar area centered on the long wall and protruding into the congregation’s seating area in a half moon configuration, people not only sit in front of the stage, they are also seated along the sides. This arrangement necessitated the new sound system have broad horizontal dispersion in order to effectively cover the entire area.”
“With a full praise band, choir, and lead vocalists,” Giammona continued, “music is a key focal point of the church’s services. Hence, the new system needed to reproduce music naturally in addition to providing a high level of speech intelligibility.”
After evaluating a variety of systems, the decision was made to deploy two WorxAudio Technologies TrueLine X3i-P compact line array systems in a left-right stereo configuration over the front of the stage area.
Flown at a height of approximately 15 feet, the two loudspeaker enclosures are augmented with two WorxAudio Wave Series 8Ai loudspeakers for sidefill—mounted one each to the far sides of the X3i-P clusters so as to provide coverage to the extreme sides of the sanctuary’s seating area.
Much of the flyware for the suspended system was custom made, as Giammona explained. “We had to work with the existing wooden trussing that resides in the ceiling area of the sanctuary,” said Giammona, “and because of this, we fabricated the superstructure to fit the beams in the church.”
The WorxAudio Technologies X3i-P is a compact, “all-in-one” self-powered line array system incorporating three modules—each with a medium format, 1-inch exit compression driver that is paired with dual 8-inch cone transducers. Combined, the three modules create a 36-degree vertical system with an unusually broad horizontal dispersion of 160 degrees.
The WorxAudio Technologies Wave Series 8Ai is a two-way, high efficiency, passive loudspeaker system utilizing a one-inch exit compression driver coupled to a 75 X 75 degree wooden waveguide horn reproducing high frequencies, and an 8-inch cone transducer in a tuned enclosure for the low frequencies. The two 8Ai enclosures are powered by a single Crown XTi Series power amplifier.
With many installations of this type, technical support is frequently a key factor in both the selection and the deployment of a sound reinforcement system. Giammona was very complimentary of WorxAudio’s customer/technical support services.
“WorxAudio’s tech support is first-rate,” noted Giammona, “and this is a key factor for my selecting their products. With WorxAudio, I know that I can reach someone knowledgeable who will be willing to provide whatever guidance we may need in order to complete the installation. They are extremely responsive and always ready to help. They are a pleasure to deal with.”
The new sound system, which was installed in late May and placed into service immediately afterward, has received high praise from all who encounter it, including David Carroll, the Music Director at New Life Christian Ministries.
“The new sound system makes a world of difference to our worship services,” stated Carroll. “No matter where you are in the room, the sound is clear and consistent. The system does a great job reproducing music and, equally important, every spoken word is clear and easy to understand. Music is a big part of what we do here and this system really helps us reach out to our congregation—particularly our youth groups—and be relevant. We couldn’t be happier.”
