To design and install the sound system at its new facility, Peachtree City Christian Church of Georgia contacted dB Audio and Video of Gainesville, Ga. Because the acoustics were so well-designed, the challenge for Ronnie Stanford, systems advisor for dB Audio and Video, was not to wrestle with standing waves and harsh reflections, as is so often the case. The key challenge with Peachtree City was to meet the modest budget of a church that had just spent a lot of money on its beautiful new building.
“Luckily for them, this job was coming to fruition just as the Danley SH-100B was coming into production,” recalls Stanford. “It’s a killer speaker with a nice, full frequency response—down to 35Hz owing to an integrated subwoofer—and the same phenomenal pattern control that has made Danley such a name in this profession. Not that Peachtree is going to use it this way every Sunday, but you can push the SH-100B hard, 115 dB, and it maintains its sonic integrity!”
The Danley SH-100B literally took center stage. Far above the pulpit, Stanford mounted one SH-100B with a Danley TH-115 tapped-horn subwoofer above it for added punch. The black speakers blended seamlessly into their black background on the proscenium. To complete the coverage on each side of the room, Stanford added a Danley SH-100, which has all of the precision of the SH-100B without the integrated subwoofer.
Although well-designed, the church’s tall, flat walls needed a bit of treatment. dB Audio and Video provided acoustic analysis, custom design and installation of 26 49×97-inch acoustic panels against the back wall. Although most of the parishioners probably assume that the panels are simply abstract, beautiful decorations, they actually keep reflected energy to a minimum so that the direct sound remains crystal clear and true.
Still keeping its client’s budget in mind, dB Audio and Video specified a four-bus, 40-input Allen & Heath GL2400-40 analog console and a 32-bit, three-input, six-output XILICA DCP-3060 digital loudspeaker controller to fuse the system together. To guarantee that the words of Minister George Dillard were heard by the congregation without glitches, dropouts or other ugliness, Stanford chose the Sennheiser EW122G2 wireless system. A full Aviom monitoring system with five personal monitors, coupled with two Yamaha wedges, allow the musicians and vocalists to keep in time in the moderately reverberant church.
In keeping with its contemporary outlook and style, Peachtree opted to include an elegant video system. Since the congregation planned to include it from the start, the architect was able to incorporate two recessed cavities in the front wall for a rear-projection system that required far fewer lumens than a comparable forward-projection system would have needed. A pair of Eiki LC-XG110s project onto two 90×120-inch Da-Lite 76743 screens with Da-Tex fabric.
Stanford specified a video input and control system that would be simple and that wouldn’t compromise the quality of the well-planned projection system. He went with a TVOne CSC-1600HD-R video switcher/scaler to ensure that the church could project anything with minimal fuss. An SP Controls Catlinc system converts the analog input at the rear of the room to digital for the long run to the projectors, where it is converted back to analog with no loss of quality. The video system is simple, effective and easily controlled by IR remote.
With the new audio and video installed and performing flawlessly, the church couldn’t be happier. “They’ll have this system for a long, long time to come,” remarks Stanford. “The sound is solid and perfectly clear. No one misses a word, and every passage of music is conveyed with beauty that befits its higher purpose. Because they planned it out, the video system looks much more expensive than it actually is.”
For more information, visit www.danleysoundlabs.com and www.ptcchristian.com.
