Atlanta-based New Birth Missionary Baptist Church recently renovated its $50 million, 7,500-seat sanctuary and opened a sister church in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Design team chose EAW® loudspeakers to fulfill the demand for state-of-the-art sound systems. Chief Engineer Mitch Donner and Production Manager Melvin Wood led the church's own production team in the design and installation of the entire system with the assistance from Roy Drukenmiller of Rock "N" Road and EAW Southeastern Representative, Quest Marketing's' Jim Greene.

"We have had good success with EAW in many of the systems we've done for the church," notes Donner. "We've looked at other loudspeaker options, and nothing really compares to the performance we get from the EAW speakers, especially for a building of this size."

The P.A. system in the Atlanta arena-style location consists of three EAW KF760 Long-Throw Line Array Modules and four EAW KF761 Short Throw Line-Array Modules in a flown line array on both sides of the stage, with three KF760s and four KF761s for the center array, completing an L-C-R main P.A. system. There are sixteen EAW SB1000z Large Format Subwoofers placed eight per side. Donner chose six EAW JF80z Compact Full-Range Loudspeakers for the front fill and 22 EAW UB82 Near-field Loudspeakers for under-balcony fills. Five EAW KF737 High-Q Line Array Modules handle out-fills. In the choir area, four EAW KF730 Compact Line Array Modules hang from the ceiling, and four EAW KF650z Compact Array Loudspeakers are used as side-fills, two per side.

The 2,500-seat Charlotte church facility presented architectural construction issues that compelled a modification to the sound system design. Structural changes meant that certain speakers had to hang lower than originally planned. However, thanks to the flexibility of EAW loudspeakers, the church was able to use all of the original sound system design components. The church's L-C-R arrays use eighteen KF730s and six EAW SB730 Compact Line Array Subwoofers with three SB1000z subwoofers on the floor for added low end support. Six JF50z compact loudspeakers are built in to the stage edge for front fills and six JF80z loudspeakers address the under-balcony fill.

In Charlotte, the EAW DX8 DSP Digital Matrix Mixer and DX810 DSP-based digital audio mixer and signal processors are integrated into the system, as is the EAW UX8800 Digital Signal Processor with EAW Focusing technology, assuring a perfectly tuned system. Says Donner, "EAW always delivers and we're very pleased with that."

EAW is pleased to announce that its DX1208 DSP Matrix Mixer now features full integration with Crestron Electronics control products, through a dedicated DX1208 module developed as part of Crestron's Integrated Partner Program (IPP). This compatibility allows contractors and system integrators to install the DX1208 to operate seamlessly with other hardware in an open-platform Crestron systems environment. Such a system may consist of audio/video, security, HVAC, lighting and other controlled devices that may be incorporated into commercial configurations. This solves a number of problems for the contractor, as integration of disparate units is often a frustrating obstacle when setting up a new system.

The direct result of end-user feedback, the market-driven, easy-to-use DX1208 represents the next generation of Digital Signal Processing (DSP) from EAW. The DX1208 maintains EAW's high standards while providing end users with an intuitive, high-performance, yet cost effective solution. Its expandability options, combined with its deep feature set, make this mixer ideal for a wide range of commercial and install applications. Now, with full Crestron integration, the DX1208 provides installers and system integrators an even more flexible DSP solution.

Dave Raneses, EAW Commercial Product Manager, stated, "We are pleased to be able offer full Crestron integration capabilities with our DX1208. As Crestron is one of the leading control system solutions in the world, being a member in the Integrated Partner Program offers Installers and system Integrators the opportunity to leverage the combined strength of our brands. Moreover, programming resources can be minimized by using the Crestron modules, ultimately helping profit margins for customers."

Dominick Accurso, Crestron Integrated Partner Program Manager, stated, "We are happy to have EAW as an integrated partner and pleased to release a Crestron module for their DX1208 Matrix Mixer, which can be downloaded for free by Crestron account holders on our website."