Sioux Falls, SD (October 4, 2011)—St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Sioux Falls, SD recently finished a 10-year renovation that included the installation of a new Renkus-Heinz Iconyx system.
Originally constructed in 1919, St. Joseph’s Cathedral’s restoration project cost more than $16 million and was overseen by architect Duncan G. Stroik. Intrinsic to the project was replacing the church’s 25 year-old sound system. Serving as Mother Church to the Diocese, as well as parish church for Sioux Falls and other surrounding parishes, St. Joseph’s masses services are attended by hundreds of parishioners.
The project proved quite challenging, according to Peter Borchard of MuSonics Audio. “The church has a lot of reflective surfaces that resulted in a six-second reverberation time, making it one of the more reverberant in the U.S. and creating significant intelligibility issues,” said Borchard.
The historic cathedral is known for its architecture featuring imported Italian marble floors and columns, arched ceilings and stained glass windows. It was vital to St. Joseph’s that the new audio system blend aesthetically so as not to diminish the visual impact of the church’s architecture. “Needless to say, it was critical that the new sound system would in no way interfere with the church’s aesthetics,” says Borchard.
An Iconyx digitally steerable array system by Renkus-Heinz was chosen as the audio solution for the cathedral. The system, installed by Brookings, SD-based Audio Connections, used a combination of Iconyx loudspeakers – two IC-32, two IC-24 and six IC-8 loudspeakers – wall-mounted throughout the cathedral. Iconyx uses Renkus-Heinz’s steerable multiple beam technology to provide coverage throughout the venue. The slim, low-profile column speakers are custom painted to match the cathedral walls.
“The sound quality of the Iconyx loudspeakers is superb, and the color matching and mounting is exemplary,” said Borchard. “The cathedral is a showcase.”
Renkus-Heinz, Inc.
www.renkus-heinz.com
