All churches share the common goal of spreading the message. Some have a greater emphasis on spoken word; others rely more on music in any variety of styles, from liturgical to flat-out rock ‘n’ roll. Yet, all houses of worship need a sound system that provides clarity, intelligibility and musicality. With that in mind, FRONT of HOUSE regularly looks into recent install/upgrade projects, and this one is particularly interesting.
The word “chapel” hardly describes the massive 277-foot sanctuary in the style of a medieval gothic cathedral in the center of the Princeton University campus. Yet, it was built to replace a small chapel that was destroyed in a fire in 1920 and retained the “chapel” moniker.
And with its long reverb times, the Princeton University Chapel had long been plagued with poor intelligibility, so during some recent interior restoration, it was decided to design and install a new sound system. That task was assigned to award-winning (TEC and Parnelli) audio and acoustical designer Sam Berkow of SIA Acoustics (siaacoustics.com), who’s also handled projects such as NYC’s Jazz at Lincoln Center, The SFJazz Center (San Francisco), Jazz St. Louis (St. Louis), The Pearl at the Palms (Las Vegas) and many more.
A major consideration in the project was the complexity of working in a landmarked historic stone building, which made the design and installation much more complex than expected.
“The loudspeaker system was designed with the goal of delivering high-quality speech intelligibility and tonal balance for music, whilst also respecting the venue,” says John V. Fish, senior project engineer at Maryland-based integrator Washington Professional Systems (WPS). “With that framework in mind, the system utilizes 13 different self-powered Renkus-Heinz IC Live Gen5 loudspeakers throughout the main sanctuary, located on each side of the altar, on the columns of the nave, on the sidewalls of the balcony, and at the Marquand Chapel. Each loudspeaker receives an independent audio signal from the DSP and is programmed with specific delays to act as one unit, creating the effect that the audio is being delivered from the altar.”
One of the main reasons for selecting a Renkus-Heinz audio solution was the beam-steering capabilities of the brand’s loudspeakers. The IC Live Gen5 Series features OmniBeam – an algorithm that offers unmatched sound and coverage for all venues, without complex configuration. The use of OmniBeam results in custom-tailored sound that covers the exact geometry of the space, delivering consistency from the front to the back of any venue.
“The beam-steering capabilities allow control of sound dispersion from the loudspeakers in the vertical plane. This capability helps fine tune the system for highly intelligible speech in the very reverberant and reflective Chapel,” furthers Sam Berkow of SIA Acoustics. “Additionally, the IC Live Gen5 loudspeakers allow us as designers to control the vertical dispersion of sound to the point where we can create the sense that sound is coming from the presenter or worship leader themselves, rather than from the loudspeakers. This system allows a historic building to meet the expectations of today’s most demanding audiences.” The solution for the main vocal P.A. came in the form of Renkus-Heinz Iconyx Live beam steering column speakers — 13 in all, with two 12-foot triple versions next to the pulpit and lectern and 11 of the 8-foot Iconyx doubles on the stone columns. Each connects via a Dante backbone using small-diameter TiniFiber Micro Armor fiber optic cabling, which uses a tightly wrapped stainless steel coil combined with Kevlar for protection, while accommodating any tight bend radius. Custom-colored, these invisibly reach down to speakers from the ceiling 80-100 feet above.
“The Renkus-Heinz IC Live Gen5 Series work really well,” says Berkow. “Careful angle selection and alignment really are the keys. We ended up aiming the triples at the front further back than we had originally thought, but the image really comes from the front of the room and the sound is very natural and clear.”
After ensuring that the fiber cabling was nearly undetectable, “we offered to encase the speakers in a stone look, photo-printed scrim fabric or have them painted,” Berkow explains.
“The choice to stay black was made by a team from the facility.” However, this may change as “most of the stretched fabric panel installers and fabric houses like Rose Brand, FabriTRAK and others offer both pre-printed and custom-printed scrim fabrics,” which could be added at a future date.
Yet this is only part of the story. While 28 of the large vintage lighting fixtures were taken down for restoration, custom speaker mounts were designed to conceal down-firing Fulcrum Acoustic speakers within. Some 22 fixtures were fitted for Fulcrum RX599 with 5” coaxial drivers for overhead and rear area reinforcement. Another six lights above the choir seating had 8” model CX-826 coaxials, to be employed as choir monitors.
“Designed to enhance choral singing, musical performances and select spoken word events, these overhead loudspeakers will enhance the main sound system,” Berkow notes, “provide additional envelopment and — when desired — adding an immersive element to the sound.”
Other system improvements included: Allen & Heath Avantis console in an HSA roll-top wood enclosure connected to an A&H DT168 Dante stagebox; QSC Q-SYS Core 510i 256×256 DSP for loudspeaker control/alignment; four QSC CX-Q 4K8 amplifiers; six dBTechnologies DVX DM 28 wedge monitors; Audix, DPA, Earthworks and Shure mics; Clear-Com intercoms; and a Listen Technologies assisted listening system.
Any complex endeavor requires a team effort and Berkow added thanks to Tyler Cotrell from SIA Acoustics — a div of RDA; Mike Sinclair from Sinclair Audio; and John V. Fish from WPS — all who made huge efforts to make the project happen. Berkow also added a nod to the team at Historic Building Architects, Renkus-Heinz and Fulcrum Acoustic.
Commenting the day after the unveiling, Berkow was pleased with the outcome. “Achieving intelligible speech is hard in these spaces,” he explains, “while adding the requirement for tonally balanced and enveloping music requires a significant design and system tuning effort. And working in a historic space not designed with cable runs in mind presents lots of challenges, but it was all worth it. Yesterday was really amazing!”
