Two years in the planning, the New Community Church in Vista California had researched its options on a new sound system by visiting other churches and through various manufacturers’ demonstrations – big name systems in large churches where the sound shook the walls. But they knew the goal wasn’t to overpower their congregation, Instead, they wanted clarity and inspiration, especially to those in a balcony where the old system failed to perform.

The church seats about 600 with the a huge balcony that extends out over half of the lower level, which had always presented an audio challenge. ‘Our old system was tired, rundown and cranky,’ explains co-pastor Justin Hoeppner. ‘It had virtually no high frequency response which gave us a muddy mid-range.’

New Community’s research paid off as it discovered Vue. After connecting with Vue audiotechnik partner, Essex Sound, and designing a system to cater for the building’s needs, the al-4 line array was installed. To accommodate the unique shape of the auditorium, 120° wide dispersion horns were used to ensure proper coverage. Two al-4 arrays (eight elements per side) were suspended and wired in stereo by request. Two as-215 subwoofers fill out the low-end. VUEpoint Beam Forming allowed the system to be aimed to cover the balcony and lower seating area, while attenuating hot spots.

‘With our old system, we could always see a difference between the audience on the floor and the audience in the balcony,’ says Hoeppner. ‘The difference in sound made the balcony attendees much less engaged with the music. Now with our improvements, we’re seeing a more uniform engagement throughout the auditorium. We have plenty of volume, but it’s not overwhelming everyone with massive SPL. The presence is incredibly different which makes our people feel more immersed and connected to the service. We’re thrilled with the results, and we couldn’t be happier with our selection.’

More: www.vueaudio.com