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Giving Traditional Church Services a Boost? First, Do No Harm

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JD Sound & Video installed color-matched Renkus-Heinz IC Live Gen5 ICL-F-DUAL-RN arrays on either side of the nave at the historic St. Mark’s Church in Philadelphia to improve speech intelligibility.

When it comes to traditional church services, notes FRONT of HOUSE’s “Sound Sanctuary” columnist John McJunkin, rule number 1 is to “do no harm.” It’s likely that the worship space has reasonably good acoustics that require just a bit of a P.A. assist. If that’s the scenario, he notes, a portable line array system with subs and delay towers might be overkill. Small speakers on sticks can be brought out when necessary, and put away when they’re not. The other consideration is aesthetics. Big ugly black speakers may stand out in a traditional church. Either find some way to tuck the speakers away or cover them with tasteful acoustically transparent cloth. They shouldn’t call attention to themselves visually or aurally.

John McJunkin, from “Sound Sanctuary,” FOH Magazine, Jan. 2024, page 51