Built in 1844, St. Malachy's is the third oldest Roman Catholic church in Belfast, Northern Ireland. When the uniquely detailed church reopened after 15-month, $6 million restoration to its interior and exterior, parishioners marveled at the restored brickwork, plasterwork, marble altar, mosaic floor and "wedding cake" fan-vaulted ceiling.
But another revelation was in store for the congregation, which wouldn't be fully revealed to most until the first Mass was held after the church's reopening: the new sound system.
The new system includes white polystyrene QSC AcousticDesign AD-S282H 2-way loudspeakers, yoke-mounted vertically onto the sanctuary walls on either side of the altar. They provide the dispersion for both the gallery and ground floor seating tiers, while a pair of outfacing high-output AD-S82H 2-way loudspeakers (using the IntelliDock intelligent mounting system) extend coverage to the wrap-around side pews.
For many, the system was delivering an intelligibility which they had not imagined possible.
"I have never heard a PA sound as well as when we turned this on – it was crystal clear," said installation contractor Gary McElveen, who runs local PA specialists Communications Systems Ltd. and handled the installation for the church's system.
McElveen had been introduced to the project by electrical consultants Williams & Shaw. Although a seasoned audio professional, the unusual shape of the building persuaded McElveen to seek further advice, and he in turn contacted Jim Hooks at local dealers DJ Kilpatrick.
"The church is extremely wide and narrow, with a gallery that virtually overlooks the altar," said McElveen. "In the 23 years I have been in the business, I have never fitted out a church shaped like this – it was far from being the usual rectangle."
QSC noted that its QSC AD-S282H 2-way loudspeakers have proven popular for reinforcing historic buildings since they were launched. The enclosure incorporates two 8-inch weather-resistant, LF transducers with double roll cloth surrounds. The loudspeakers also employ a 1-inch exit compression HF driver while the QSC AD-82H 2-way loudspeakers also features the same styling and operate full range.
The usual reverberation associated with Houses of Worship barely manifested itself – fortunately for the installers, since the lack of available time prevented them from commissioning an EASE model of the building. They went purely on experience, and McElveen was pleased that he could install the system with a fairly flat EQ and detect no hotspots wherever they positioned themselves among the 1,200 seats.
The low impedance system is backed up by a 100V line recessed ceiling speaker system which also ensures even coverage at the back and out in the entrance foyer.
The QSC equipment was provided by Shure Distribution (UK) Ltd., who also supplied a Shure SLX wireless system (lapel and handheld for the officiating clergy and soloist in the gallery) as well as boundary mic and gooseneck for the lectern.
All presets are stored in a rack-mount mixer in the vestry so that all the officiating clergy need to do is adjust the levels.
While most of the congregation had to wait until the first Mass to hear the system, the incumbent priest, Rev. Fr. Martin Graham CC, was able to first test the sound system with liturgical music sent from his iPod. (A line input has been provided into the system for this.)
Fr. Graham was particularly impressed at the lack of slapback, even though the previous sound-absorbing linoleum-covered floor had been replaced by a stone floor surface.
