VELBERT, Germany—Christ’s Church celebrated its 100th anniversary with a sound system, marking the first installation of a Martin Audio OmniLine system in a German church. The system is powered by Crest Audio amplification with processing via an Architectural Acoustics Digitool MX programmable digital processor.
The hall itself offers excellent acoustics, but for the main services as well as the diverse cultural activities hosted by the church such as classical and choral concerts, readings, the church required a professional audio system in order to fully optimize the acoustic qualities of the building.
To minimize compromises with the aesthetic appeal of the historic building, technical project manager Thomas Meckel advised against a “typical” loudspeaker installation and specified four OmniLine arrays with six modules in each — two for the nave of the church and the other two for the gallery so the sound energy could be directed to where it was needed.
“The fact that there are no columns in the nave of Christ’s Church worked to our advantage, as it offered an ideal backdrop for the OmniLine system, which covers long distances very easily,” Meckel said. “Furthermore, the natural sound impression is enhanced by the use of just a single column of loudspeakers as the sound comes directly from the speaker and not from a source beside the pew, which is extremely distracting for the congregation.
“Lastly, the OmniLine speakers work very well from an aesthetic point of view. The arrays are elegant and unobtrusive, which is ideal for this sort of environment.”
Christ’s Church is one of the most significant “Jugendstil,” or art nouveau, churches in western Germany. Designed by architect Carl Krieger with interior design by Franz Brantzsky, the 900-seat church gives worshippers an unobstructed view of the altar, font, pulpit and organ.
When live bands appear, a pair of Martin Audio S12 subs can be activated to provide LF extension. Monitoring is done via a pair of Martin Audio AQ5s, stationed at the organ and chorus tribune.
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