The Columbia Road Church of God sanctuary.
Orangeburg, SC – August 2011… With a faith based outreach that serves people of all races, creeds, and religions, Columbia Road Church of God—led by Senior Pastor Bishop L. Keith Vaughn—is tireless in its efforts to help those seeking spiritual healing and enlightenment. The ever-expanding size of the congregation and the desire of church management to incorporate a vibrant musical program into its services were overwhelming the sound reinforcement system in their main sanctuary. Recognizing that both music reproduction and speech intelligibility were critical to the effectiveness of its services, the church recently upgraded its sound reinforcement capabilities with a new sound system drawn from the catalog of Greensboro, NC-based WorxAudio Technologies.
Orangeburg, SC-based Templeton Sound Systems, a design / build firm specializing in sound, video recording/projection, and stage lighting for the church market, was contracted to revitalize Columbia Road Church of God’s sound system. Michael W. Templeton, President of Templeton Sound Systems, discussed the challenges of the project and his decision to deploy WorxAudio Technologies’ TrueLine system.
“The congregation seating area at Columbia Road Church of God measures roughly 90 feet deep by 50 feet wide,â€? Templeton explained, “with fixed seating for approximately 400 – 500 people. The real challenge in this space stemmed from the nature of the high ceiling, which is made from wood and has exposed beams. This extreme depth of the seating area made it very challenging for the previous sound system to achieve even coverage from front to rear. As a result, those seated in the front of the congregation were getting blasted while the people in the back of the room could barely understand what was taking place up front. Because of this, I wanted a line array system that delivers clear, penetrating high frequencies over a predictable and controlled coverage area and this prerequisite led me to the WorxAudio X5i-P installation line array.â€?
With its five modules, each with a medium format, 1-inch exit compression driver coupled to a stabilized proprietary wave shaping device and mated with dual 8-inch cone transducers for the lo-mids, the WorxAudio X5i-P is a compact all-in-one line array. The five modules are splayed to produce a broad 160-degree horizontal by 40-degree vertical dispersion that creates a holding pattern ranging from 300 Hz to 18 kHz.
“The X5i-P effectively eliminated the coverage issues while at the same time, it increased the level of speech intelligibility throughout the room,� Templeton said. “With this centrally flown loudspeaker cluster, we were able to achieve remarkably consistent SPL levels from front to rear and side to side; and those people seated up front no longer get punished.�
With a sizeable praise band, a choir, and a praise team, music plays a vital role in Columbia Road Church of God’s services. Here, too, the X5i-P delivers solid music reproduction characteristics. Mounted to the rear of the X5i-P is the WorxAudio X1i-P compact line array system. Similar in overall design to the X5i-P, the X1i-P incorporates a single module with the same basic transducer complement. This loudspeaker system serves as a downfill monitor for the choir and others on stage—providing a dispersion pattern of 160 degrees horizontal by 10 degrees vertical.
“While the X1i-P isn’t visible throughout most of the congregation seating area,� Templeton notes, “it does a terrific job of covering the stage area and functions as an exceptional monitor system. We augmented this monitoring arrangement with two WorxAudio 8M loudspeakers, which in addition to serving as floor wedges, can be used as front fills should the need arise. Monitoring for the musicians is handled by Aviom in-ear monitor systems.�
Low frequency support is provided by two WorxAudio TrueLineTL218SSi-P sub bass enclosures. There is one sub enclosure positioned on each side of the stage area and each enclosure is housed in a custom recessed cubicle under the front edge of the stage.
With the new system up and running since the beginning of August, Templeton reports that compliments for a job well done are flowing, “We’ve had wonderful responses from church management, the pastor, musicians, vocalists, and the congregation. For the first time ever, sound coverage is consistent throughout the house and the audio level up front is no longer painful. The music has a pleasing, supportive quality to it and people can understand what’s being said from wherever they happen to be seated. Make no mistake; the new WorxAudio sound system goes a long way toward making the church’s services more relevant than ever.�
To learn more about Columbia Road Church of God, visit them online at www.columbiaroadchurchofgod.com. For additional information about Templeton Sound Systems, go to www.templetonsound.com.
About WorxAudio Technologies
Headquartered in Greensboro, NC, WorxAudio Technologies has been at the forefront of loudspeaker development for the pro touring and contractor markets for the past thirty years. With a comprehensive lineup of more than twenty loudspeaker models that feature integrated rigging hardware for streamlined installation and pack out, WorxAudio products can be found in prestigious facilities worldwide. For additional information, visit the company online at www.worxaudio.com.
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