KNOXVILLE, TN — Chilhowee Hills Baptist Church's main sanctuary has just been tripled in size and volume, as designed by architect Bill Denton, and worship pastor David Stewart selected Audio Ethics to perform the install. Stewart is focused on applying good technologies to enhance a refreshed and appropriate modern style of service. Worship leaders are not expected to rap to thunderous bass, but electric bass may used to provide emphasis, as well as a rhythm section.
"We opened the new sanctuary at Easter; the building project has taken us a year," Stewart stated. "During the time of rebuilding, parishioners have been obliged to worship in temporary accommodations."
"Through my research I found Audio Ethics in Charlotte," Stewart discloses. Audio Ethics is a sound, light and video installation company with an additional expertise in acoustic treatment; they specialize in houses of worship.
"We went to meet with president Donnie Haulk, who took us to look at different rooms they had done. Of one thing I was certain, I wanted a specific decay time in our room, 1.7 seconds; not too long. So I provided them with a quite specific brief. It is the length of decay considered ideal for piano: 1.6 to 1.7 seconds."
Stewart has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music. "That said, I'm ignorant of some things, which is why we went to Audio Ethics."
Stewart's AV Director, Richard Bonds, a retired music minister who runs the sound board for Chilhowee, added, "We did a Red Cross benefit recently with 12 separate acts, and the features of the Yamaha DM2000 made that a simple process to manage."
"Intelligibility."
He stated, "The spoken word was most important; we wanted that clean high end. I also like a distributed system; one that is even, and that is what Donnie [Haulk] has designed."
Stewart continued, "Audio Ethics did a lot of acoustic treatment for us. The back of the sanctuary behind the congregation is concave and posed a particular problem, the flat front to the balcony likewise and the back wall above it."
The sanctuary is fan shaped, facing onto a shallow rectangular stage with a curved front edge that matches the arc of the room. Audio Ethic's installed system has followed this curved line, placing pairs of d&b Audiotechnik C7 loudspeakers at four points around the arc as a main delivery system; then 10 individual C7s are positioned farther out. Ci80s provide a further delay for the balcony above, while E0s, d&b's smallest loudspeaker, fill in underneath.
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