A social anchor and community hub in an economically challenged quarter of Birmingham, Alabama, Saint Barnabas Catholic Church was constructed in the early 1950s, and, although the sanctuary still serves it well is still in excellent shape, a sound reinforcement system from went in 50 years ago was not. The 300-capacity space regularly saw congregants completely avoid the middle pews, and intelligibility toward the front and back was challenging at best.

Local A/V integration firm ENG AV designed and installed a simple but effective Danley Sound Labs loudspeaker system comprised of two SM100 loudspeakers and four small Nano loudspeakers for choir and stage monitors. ‘Many of our parishioners are older, and hearing can be a challenge for them even under the best of circumstances,’ explains Father Douglas Vu, who, in addition to leading Saint Barnabas, volunteers his time as a sports commentator. Father Vu’s energy and enthusiasm have made him a local celebrity.

‘Our parish is located in a poorer neighbourhood of Birmingham, and money is always an issue. That’s why I was happy to work with Gary [Boackle] at ENG AV. I trusted that he would deliver a custom-built system that would solve our intelligibility problems for the most affordable price.’

‘The previous sound reinforcement system at Saint Barnabas was extremely old,’ says Boackle, founder and owner of ENG AV. ‘Although it was possible to understand Father Vu most of the time because he naturally projects, it was usually impossible to understand what a most respected pastor emeritus was saying. He’s 80 years old and soft-spoken.

‘We’ve worked with many different loudspeaker manufacturers, but Danley is unique. I was impressed when I heard a demo several years ago, and we recently had great success covering a local high school football field and stands with just three Danley OS80 loudspeakers and a single OS115 subwoofer.

‘Danley seemed like an ideal fit at Saint Barnabas because the patented point-source technology has such natural intelligibility and excellent pattern control. We could hit the pews, keep energy off the walls, and minimise feedback problems from the alter. It’s also excellent that Danley boxes are manufactured in the US and that the company doesn’t shy away from its faith-based roots.’

Boackle’s solution was a single SM100 full-range loudspeaker hangs above the altar and angles down to miss the alter and cover the front half of the room. A second SM100 hangs halfway back and covers the remainder of the room with an appropriate delay. Two diminutive (6-inch cube) Nano loudspeakers cover the choir loft with a flat, phase-coherent frequency response between 200Hz and 15kHz, and two more Nanos serve as monitors for Monsignor O’Connor. QSC amplification and processing provide back-end support for the system. Boackle and his installation team hustled to get the system in place before the big Easter mass.

‘Everyone is thrilled with the new sound quality and intelligibility,’ Boackle reports. ‘Since Father Vu is so loud and the Monsignor is so quiet, we set up an autogain in the QSC DSP. That, together with Danley fidelity, makes for an effortless listener experience. The two of them can trade back and forth and you can hear every word, despite the fact that they’re speaking at entirely different volumes. And since the Danley boxes are relatively small and clean, they blend right into the aesthetic without detracting.’

‘Now every pew in our church can hear the word of God clearly,’ Father Vu says. ‘The old system was like listening to announcements on an airplane and the new system is like just talking to someone without a microphone. It’s an incredible difference. Even our hearing-impaired members have come to me to express how much it has improved their experience.

‘After the Good Friday liturgy, an elderly parishioner sent me a message about his experience during this service: ‘I have a major hearing impairment, and the new sound system is clear and provides the sound support I need.’’

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