KF Concert Audio Enhances Calvary Church
The worship center at Calvary Church of Santa Anna (California) now benefits from a new sound reinforcement system offering concert-type performance and functionality, headed by EAW KF730 compact, high-output line array loudspeakers.
Gates Sound, based in nearby Buena Park, California, is headed by Doug Gates, who has successfully transitioned his work in live sound to a thriving installation business, counting work with churches as a primary specialty. On this project, he worked closely with Calvary Church Technical Arts Director Trevor Behrns in devising a system solution and then making it a reality.
The biggest challenge is the width of the room, which requires well over 100 degrees of horizontal coverage from the loudspeakers. Three leading line array models, all providing wide enough coverage for this application, were identified and subsequently brought in for evaluation in the worship center.
A group of church representatives made the final decision based upon this direct comparison, choosing EAW KF730 small-format line arrays that offer 110-degree horizontal dispersion and plenty of output despite their compact footprint. Each KF730 includes dual 1.75-inch-voice-coil compression drivers and dual 7-inch cone drivers both working with a mid-/high-frequency horn that fills the entire face of the enclosure, maintaining horizontal pattern control throughout the MF/HF pass-band.
In addition, the low-frequency section offers EAW’s proprietary Phase Aligned design that extends the full 110 degrees of horizontal coverage all the way down to 160 Hz. The design also spaces the dual 10-inch LF cone drivers so that their bandwidth matches that of the MF through crossover.
“What we wanted, and what has been delivered by the KF730’s, is a really full, warm sound signature,” Behrns says. “We didn’t need gigantic rock music levels, even though this system can deliver it, but rather, full-bandwidth and very even coverage at every seat, without variance. When someone would complain about the old system, we’d ask ‘where did you sit?’ because the coverage was so spotty. We don’t have to worry about that anymore.”
EAW KF730 Wizard software provided an assist in determining array structure, cabinet count and aiming. Audio Geer, EAW’s sales representative firm for the region, provided support on this facet, and later returned to offer an assist with final tuning and analysis, deploying SIA Smaart-Live.
The system is configured in stereo, with left and right line arrays made up of seven modules each, flown above the very far sides of the stage. Modeling had shown this approach to be optimum in terms of coverage, except for a slight “hole” in mid-/high-frequency presence at the very front/center seats. The small gap was addressed with dual KF730 modules flown centrally above the front of the stage, tucked tightly up to the ceiling. (Trevor - at left - and Doug are shown in the adjacent photo.)
Standard KF730 flying hardware was used to securely fix the arrays to a load-rated beam traversing the stage. Splay brackets included in the hardware package allowed the installers to easily fix the splay angles between enclosures.
“This was really an easy install as far as the loudspeakers,” Gates notes. “The arrays go together very easily and the hardware is precise and solid.”