Forty miles north of San Antonio in the town of Canyon Lake, Texas, the First Baptist Church recently unveiled a revamped sound system.

As the church’s style of worship has evolved over the years, becoming progressively more contemporary, it became clear that the existing vocal reinforcement system could no longer deliver the performance they now require. The church approached systems integrator Hairel Enterprises to discuss its options: ‘The existing sound system was more than 15 years old, and although it covered the room adequately, they were really in need of a more powerful modern system designed for full-range music reproduction,’ explains Bruce Simmons, senior systems designer at Hairel.

‘The sanctuary is a relatively long and narrow space, and their need for a high-quality, well-controlled system that would also keep us within budget made the selection of Fulcrum loudspeakers and Linea Research amplifiers a logical choice.’

For the main centre and delay loudspeakers Simmons chose Fulcrum CX1226 12-inch coaxial enclosures, adding another for choir monitor and a Sub218 double 18-inch subwoofer for low frequency support. Power was provided by a single Linea Research 44M10 four-channel amplifier complete with a Dante input module.

‘With this system maximizing their budget was key,’ Simmons reports. ‘We selected the Linea Research amplifier because of its built-in networked DSP to provide our system processing. With the addition of a Dante input module and a Dante-equipped mixing console we were able to keep equipment and cabling to a minimum, reducing both hardware and installation costs. Programming the amp via their software application was quick and simple, and the sound quality is outstanding.’

‘We couldn’t be happier with the results,’ says Youth and Missions Pastor, Brian Gunter. ‘Hairel Enterprises did a great job of bringing in the right system for our needs, and the service and support has been excellent.’