Sugarloaf United Methodist Church (Duluth, Ga.) recently debuted new audio, projection and video distribution systems installed by dB Audio & Video (Gainesville, Ga.) in its new Community Life Building. Sugarloaf’s minister of worship arts, Larry Parker, worked with Ronnie Stanford, systems advisor for dB, to create an A/V system that would serve the space’s multipurpose nature.
“Sugarloaf’s staff and volunteers are highly competent in media ministry and knew their functionality requirements,” Stanford notes. “They wanted high-fidelity audio and complete coverage of the room. The robust system needed to support music, speech, IMAG and video playback—all the elements of a quality worship service.”
The multipurpose room has lines drawn on the carpet for basketball and volleyball, as well as retractable basketball goals on each end of the room. A 50×25-foot-deep (WxD) stage is along one wall and is built to accommodate the choir and a band. Cushioned stackable chairs are used during the high-energy worship services and are then stored away. Stanford’s design had to take into account the room’s uses, as well as sightlines, usability and durability.
The audio design uses loudspeakers by Danley Sound Labs. The center cluster, flown over the stage, features two Danley SH50 full-range loudspeakers with a 50×50 synergy horn configuration and two Danley TH115 tapped-horn subwoofers. Flown to the left and right are one each of the Danley SH50 loudspeaker for room coverage and a Danley SH100 loudspeaker aimed at the stage for stage wash/choir coverage.
For the stage monitor system, Stanford chose a 16-channel Aviom system with eight personal monitor mixers and four Community XLT41E-94B loudspeakers. Twelve Atlas Sound FAP42T ceiling speakers provide coverage throughout the rest of the building. A total of six QSC RMX Series amplifiers provide power for the system.
The front-of-house position is portable, with a Yamaha 48-channel M7 digital console mounted in a wheeled road case. When the audio system is needed for playback or for simple announcements during a meeting, the single, bi-amp Nexia SP signal processor can be used instead of the full FOH rack.
dB Audio & Video also designed and installed acoustic treatment for the room. The rear and side walls of the room created large reflective surfaces that required proper acoustic treatment to achieve the coverage and intelligibility that was required. Twenty 4×8-foot panels were installed along the back wall, and additional panels were also installed on the side walls to reduce the unwanted reflection.
For more information on Danley Sound, visit www.danleysoundlabs.com. For more information on dB Audio & Video, visit www.dbaudioandvideo.com.
