LONDON – SFL Group has installed an L-Acoustics line source system into Dominion Church, based in a renovated 1930s Art Deco cinema in Wood Green, North London, using large-format Kudo and compact Kiva cabinets.
L-Acoustics' U.K. technical manager Jamie Gosney met Dominion Church's technical manager, Eben Awuah in January. The church had been meeting in a room under the cinema's balcony, which was already equipped with an L-Acoustics coaxial system, and it was time to expand into the rest of the building.
"Although it was clearly in the early stages of renovation, walking into the building was breathtaking, as it's a perfect example of Art Deco architecture," said Gosney. "We discussed the church's audio requirements and it became clear that high sound quality and versatility were essential as music concerts and conferences were to be held there, as well as normal Sunday meetings."
The auditorium holds 2,500 people, with most of the seating situated beneath a deep balcony, so enough throw was needed to reach the back of the balcony.
Gosney began work on L-Acoustics' Soundvision 3D sound design software, dropping various loudspeaker configurations into the building. SFL's technical director Mark Payne then set to work with Gosney and the mapping he'd created to design a new system.
"The client's agenda already included L-Acoustics because of the existing system, which they were really happy with," said Payne. "Jamie and I looked at various ways of doing it. The decision to use a mixture of Kudo and Kiva gave us the flexibility we needed.
"We couldn't have large boxes in the downstairs area as they would detract from the look of the venue, whereas Kudo flown up high wasn't so much of a problem aesthetically," Payne added.
"We ended up with a left/right six box Kudo system to cover the upstairs balcony, a left/right Kiva system of six cabinets per side to cover the front of the stalls area, and utilized the church's existing coaxials as delay fills under the balcony, and four SB118 subwoofers."
When L-Acoustics' Cedric Montrezor arrived in London to fine tune the system, he set up Kudo in its 25Hz mode – one of the new L-Acoustics presets.
"This allows the flown line array to become a very effective sub bass system, and it gives a very even bass coverage in the venue, rather than the bass being concentrated at the front, which can happen with ground stacked subs," said Payne. "Without Cedric setting it up I wouldn't have thought to do this as it's quite unique with line array products. The SB118s are small enough to fit under the stage, and they're tuned to be infra-sub, working an octave below the low end of the Kudo. This gives a lot of feel to the raw bottom end without messing up the acoustics of the venue. This solution was so effective that I would now consider doing an installation driving the sub energy from Kudo alone. And, as Kudo is a 10-degree system, it can be stretched in the vertical coverage, which is cost effective for a smaller venue as you're not dealing with a seven-degree line array product; those extra three degrees mean that you need less boxes in the hang."
The newly-commissioned Kudo/Kiva system is now in full use, adding a new dimension to the reopened church's services and meetings.
For more information, please visit www.l-acoustics.com.
