Churches can be vastly different from any other kind of large venue used for music and speech. It is often said that installing a professional audio system within a church can be much more expensive than other venues, and this article by Pat Brown addresses the most common reasons as to why that is often true.
Reason 1: Dynamic Range
Because churches are noticeably quieter than other typical venues, the sound system must be able to prevent audible background noise within the audience while being as quiet as possible. This requires a dynamic range that would most often be found in recording studios and other spaces that are used for critical listening. Pat Brown states that 96 dB would meet that criteria. It is important to use proper gain structure to eliminate as much background noise as possible.
Reason 2: Energy Ratios
Every seat within the church must have optimized for appropriate signal-to-noise ratio and early-to-late energy ratios. It is important that the seating in the church are located within the spaces' sweet spot rather than a null.
Reason 3: Uniform Coverage
Different loudspeaker setups cause different interactions between the loudspeakers and greatly affect their coverage, causing the room to have certain hot and cold spots where the sound can be optimal or not so great, respectively. Having great coverage and great sound at every seat in the room requires a good loudspeaker setup, and its as simple as that.
Reason 4: Versatility
Developing a system that is specialized for both music and speech is much more difficult of a task than developing one for just music or speech, being that these two types of presentation require different attributes. Having your system be optimized for both is going to cost a pretty penny.
Reason 5: Hum and Buzz
Improper grounding practices within the installation of the equipment or wiring of equipment can often result in buzz and hum within a system, something that is very bad for a church congregation. This can be eliminated by modifying some equipment to work without hum and by proper grounding and shielding of wiring and equipment.
Reason 6: Gain-Before-Feedback
multiple mics and long distance micing are two necessities for a church service, but are unfortunately two big potencial causes for feedback. The only way to prevent feedback or at the very least, reduce the potential for feedback as much as possible is proper placement of both the loudspeakers and the microphones as well as proper training of the staff and making sure they know the limitations of the system.
Reason 7: Wireless Microphones and radio frequency interference (RFI)
devices must be properly shielded and filtering devices must be installed in order to eliminate interference from frequencies above the audible band. Wireless mics are a great tool within the operation of a church service, but its important to use wireless frequencies correctly in order to prevent RFI.
Reason 8: "Clean" Installation Practices
Proper installation of the system plays an integral part in the overall success in the system. Following all installation codes and being able to keep the visual aesthetics of the installation site intact without having the installation affect it greatly is very important. Without proper installation, there is no proper operation.
Reason 9: Professional Equipment
This one can really make a dent on the wallet, but it is worth the investment. Having the best and most-suitable equipment possible and ones the meet all fire and safety codes can make the difference between making repairs to a system and replacing the system entirely.
Reason 10: Calibration, Training and Documentation
though a significant amount of expertise and a certain amount of advanced audio and acoustic equipment is required to make a system as "user-friendly" as possible, a properly calibrated system is easier for personnel to operate (Brown 3). It is also important that the churches personnel be properly trained and educated with the use of equipment manuals to ensure that services run as smoothly as possible.
Works Cited
Brown, Pat. "Ten Reasons Why Church Sound Systems Cost More." ProSoundWeb. 03 Oct 2011: 3. Web. 31 Jan. 2013. <http://www.prosoundweb.com/article/ten_reasons_why_church_sound_systems_cost_more>.
Reason 1: Dynamic Range
Because churches are noticeably quieter than other typical venues, the sound system must be able to prevent audible background noise within the audience while being as quiet as possible. This requires a dynamic range that would most often be found in recording studios and other spaces that are used for critical listening. Pat Brown states that 96 dB would meet that criteria. It is important to use proper gain structure to eliminate as much background noise as possible.
Reason 2: Energy Ratios
Every seat within the church must have optimized for appropriate signal-to-noise ratio and early-to-late energy ratios. It is important that the seating in the church are located within the spaces' sweet spot rather than a null.
Reason 3: Uniform Coverage
Different loudspeaker setups cause different interactions between the loudspeakers and greatly affect their coverage, causing the room to have certain hot and cold spots where the sound can be optimal or not so great, respectively. Having great coverage and great sound at every seat in the room requires a good loudspeaker setup, and its as simple as that.
Reason 4: Versatility
Developing a system that is specialized for both music and speech is much more difficult of a task than developing one for just music or speech, being that these two types of presentation require different attributes. Having your system be optimized for both is going to cost a pretty penny.
Reason 5: Hum and Buzz
Improper grounding practices within the installation of the equipment or wiring of equipment can often result in buzz and hum within a system, something that is very bad for a church congregation. This can be eliminated by modifying some equipment to work without hum and by proper grounding and shielding of wiring and equipment.
Reason 6: Gain-Before-Feedback
multiple mics and long distance micing are two necessities for a church service, but are unfortunately two big potencial causes for feedback. The only way to prevent feedback or at the very least, reduce the potential for feedback as much as possible is proper placement of both the loudspeakers and the microphones as well as proper training of the staff and making sure they know the limitations of the system.
Reason 7: Wireless Microphones and radio frequency interference (RFI)
devices must be properly shielded and filtering devices must be installed in order to eliminate interference from frequencies above the audible band. Wireless mics are a great tool within the operation of a church service, but its important to use wireless frequencies correctly in order to prevent RFI.
Reason 8: "Clean" Installation Practices
Proper installation of the system plays an integral part in the overall success in the system. Following all installation codes and being able to keep the visual aesthetics of the installation site intact without having the installation affect it greatly is very important. Without proper installation, there is no proper operation.
Reason 9: Professional Equipment
This one can really make a dent on the wallet, but it is worth the investment. Having the best and most-suitable equipment possible and ones the meet all fire and safety codes can make the difference between making repairs to a system and replacing the system entirely.
Reason 10: Calibration, Training and Documentation
though a significant amount of expertise and a certain amount of advanced audio and acoustic equipment is required to make a system as "user-friendly" as possible, a properly calibrated system is easier for personnel to operate (Brown 3). It is also important that the churches personnel be properly trained and educated with the use of equipment manuals to ensure that services run as smoothly as possible.
Works Cited
Brown, Pat. "Ten Reasons Why Church Sound Systems Cost More." ProSoundWeb. 03 Oct 2011: 3. Web. 31 Jan. 2013. <http://www.prosoundweb.com/article/ten_reasons_why_church_sound_systems_cost_more>.
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