Image of Byron Houchins, Vineyard Columbus’ Director of Media, with the D.A.S. Audio loudspeaker system.
Columbus, OH – October 2010… With a congregation of approximately 8,000, Vineyard Church of Columbus is the largest church in Central Ohio. While it offers hundreds of ministries and thousands of volunteer opportunities to its congregation, Vineyard Columbus works very hard to be a ‘small’ church where members won’t get lost in the shuffle. The church recently completed a dramatic overhaul of its multipurpose room and, in an effort to provide the very best audio quality throughout the space, installed a new sound reinforcement system drawn from the catalog of Valencia, Spain-based D.A.S. Audio.
Co-owned by Ed Whitney and Mike Hockenberry, Reynoldsburg, OH-based Metro Audio Video, LLC was contracted to design and install the church’s new sound system. Metro Audio Video is a design build firm for sound, video, and lighting with a significant presence in the church, corporate AV, and education markets. The sound reinforcement system that Whitney ultimately deployed consists of eight D.A.S. Audio Variant 25A powered, two-way mid-high line array elements, two Variant 18A powered subwoofers, plus three AX-V25 steel bumpers to hang the system.
Whitney discussed the challenges of the project. “Vineyard Columbus’ multipurpose space is used for everything from meetings and banquets to small concerts. When the church decided to renovate, they wanted to get away from the look of a gymnasium. Hence, they erected a multi-level stage area and they didn’t want big, unsightly loudspeakers to overwhelm the room and interfere with the line of sight. Aesthetics were very important.�
Whitney continued, “The room is approximately 90 feet by 75 feet and has a drop ceiling. The space is structured such that it is wider than it is long—with the stage / altar area facing into the width of the room and the FOH (front of house) mix position situated along the opposite wall. There is some acoustical wall treatment in addition to carpeting. Moveable seating for approximately 900 people is used. Music plays a vital role in the church’s worship service and there is both a praise band and a large, 150-voice choir. For these reasons, we had to find a loudspeaker setup that provided solid music reproduction, a high level of speech intelligibility, and wide dispersion. Most significantly, large, unsightly loudspeakers were out of the question.�
Given the parameters of the project, the D.A.S. Audio Variant system proved ideal. The loudspeakers are flown in three clusters: left-center-right. The left and right hangs each consist of one Variant 18A subwoofer plus three 25A modules underneath. The two remaining Variant 25A enclosures serve as a center fill.
“The D.A.S. Variant loudspeakers are compact, self-powered, and have excellent flyware,� notes Whitney. “Since there was no room for the subwoofers under the stage area, the fact that the Variant system places the 18A sub at the top of the cluster proved to be exactly what we needed. The system is flown at approximately 15 feet and I was particularly impressed with the ease of interconnecting the system. After installing the AX-V25 bumpers, the subwoofer and the three elements all clip together. The setup is small and light, yet provides a full, rich sound that creates even coverage throughout the space.�
Vineyard Columbus’ new system was installed in May 2010 and placed into service in early June. Whitney reports that in addition to the quality of the Variant loudspeakers themselves, he was equally impressed with D.A.S. Audio’s customer/technical support services. “We arranged a demonstration of the system during the consulting phase of the project and Carlos Henao, D.A.S. Audio of America’s U.S. Accounts Manager, came out to us, ground stacked a demonstration system, and did a terrific job pointing out the features and benefits of the equipment. His efforts really helped seal the deal.�
With the system fully operation, Byron Houchins, Vineyard Columbus’ Director of Media, reports that everyone at the church is very pleased. “We are extremely happy with the performance of the D.A.S. system,� states Houchins. “The sound quality is excellent and consistent no matter where you happen to be seated in the room. Equally important, the loudspeakers aren’t visually distracting. This is the best sounding system we’ve ever had.�
For additional information about the Vineyard Church of Columbus, visit them online at www.vineyardcolumbus.org. For further information about Metro Audio Video, LLC, please go to www.metroaudioltd.com.
About D.A.S. Audio
Headquartered in Valencia, Spain, D.A.S. Audio is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of loudspeaker systems, power amplification, signal processing, and related components. For better than thirty years, D.A.S. Audio products have been found on tour with the world’s greatest performing artists and installed in many of the most prestigious facilities. For additional information about the company, visit them online at www.dasaudio.com.
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