With an audio system had been in use for more than 20 years – with a few temporary repairs briefly prolonging its life – the Vine Christian Centre in Bridgend, Wales, finally decided to upgrade. Calling on local integrator Spartan AV and technical distributor CUK Audio, now has a system fit for to a modern worship band and speech intelligibility.
‘The client was initially fairly set on a flown line-array system,’ says Spartan AV Operations Director, Sean Hales. ‘However, after my initial site visit, I deemed that a correctly designed point-source system was the right way to tackle this project. Another consideration was loading on structural points in the roof, making a careful design necessary.’
With an accurate floor plan and other details from a site survey, CUK Audio provided the necessary design assistance for a a sound system able to handle full-range musical performance at moderate levels with an emphasis on high-quality audio. Vine’s silent stage, with DI’d instruments, an electronic drum kit, and use of in-ear monitors, eliminates spill from the stage but, as a consequence, placed the entire burden of audio reproduction on the main PA system.
Using Outline’s Open Array simulation software, CUK Audio designed a loudspeaker system in a virtual room modelled in 3D, providing a fast and accurate representation of the system’s direct sound output. With the system designed, discussed and agreed, an on-site demonstration followed during which the church confirmed its acceptance of the solution.
‘Having a 3D simulation was key to proving that, between Spartan AV and CUK Audio, we had provided a carefully considered and thoughtfully proposed solution, and ultimately it was a very simple listening demo that convinced all listeners of the quality and performance on offer from Outline,’ says CUK Audio’s James Lawford.
The new system comprises four Outline Vegas 10 loudspeakers, spaced and aimed to achieve consistent coverage across the full width of the venue. A single Vegas 6.5 provides centre fill coverage for the first half of the audience. Two Sub 118 sub-bass loudspeakers ensure a full-range audio response and sufficient headroom to allow for any use case. In addition to providing the highest levels of audio quality, the low weight of Vegas series speakers allowed mounting using existing rigging points and bar, allaying initial structural concerns.
Just two Powersoft amplifiers, a Quattrocanali 4804 DSP and a Quattrocanali 2404 DSP, provide power and processing, with control over every loudspeaker and power sharing between channels.
Spartan AV also supplied an Allen & Heath mixer, and CUK Group company Tukans, an Angekis Saber Plus full-HD PTZ camera for live-streamed video. Mipro MI-58 digital IEM systems, from CUK Audio, have been added since the initial installation to improve the quality of musician and singer monitoring.
Spartan AV also provided a lighting upgrade and tidied up other aspects of existing infrastructure.
‘Outline is a high-class brand, and every product we have used has always had the highest quality output,’ says Spartan AV Installation Director, Dave Morgan. ‘This made Outline a go-to brand for this particular project. Even though the client wasn’t particularly familiar with Outline, they were blown away by the quality.’
‘This was a project ‘done right’, showing the strength of working together with a supportive distributor,’ Hales reflects. ‘We followed a logical process from site visit, to design, demo and finally installation, with the end result being a very happy client.’
