Sonic Art Paints MQH Masterpiece At Rockford Church
Professional system integrators Sonic Art, LLC just commissioned a dynamic new sound reinforcement system – headed by EAW MQH Series full-range loudspeakers - for the worship sanctuary of First Evangelical Covenant Church in Rockford, Illinois.
Sonic Art, based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and headed by Jeff Lange, specializes in developing audio, video and lighting systems for houses of worship. Lange, supported by company general manager Brian Christ, served as a trainer for church operators and tech staffs before expanding his scope to also offer system design/build services.
Earlier this year, Sonic Art was invited to present ideas regarding an ongoing system project for the sanctuary, which was built in the 1960s. With the church hosting weekly back-to-back services in both traditional and contemporary formats, the new sound system needed to address the unique needs of both worship styles.
The single-level, 900-seat sanctuary offers an unusual design, to say the least. Most notable is a ceiling that forms a high-reaching pyramid, stretching at its apex to a height of 60 feet above the floor. It creates the potential for serious reflections of audio energy to bounce around the space. The challenging acoustic environment is aided, however, by padded seating and carpeted aisles throughout the room.
The loudspeaker evaluation process led to investigation of EAW MQ Series of large-format installation array loudspeakers. Based upon subsequent discussions with Joe Fustolo of the EAW Application Support Group (ASG), Lange selected an MQ Series variation, the MQH, as the loudspeaker model that would comprise a single array to be flown above the platform and provide coverage to the entire room.
MQH Series loudspeakers are expressly designed to solve difficulties in larger venues, providing unique down-angled coverage by using specially designed asymmetrical mid-frequency and high-frequency horns, with the enclosures vertically configured for arraying in horizontal rows to optimize coverage in wide, fan-shaped audience spaces.
“Adding it all up – the diverse service styles, the highly reflective nature of the room and strict aesthetic concerns – resulted in the MQH loudspeakers being an ideal choice to meet the needs of this project,” Lange explains. “A really attractive aspect of these loudspeakers is that the tight pattern control extends all the way down to 200 Hz – a life-saver in a situation where you need full-range performance throughout a reverberant space.” (Jeff is pictured above at the church mix position.)
The single array is made up of four MQH1344e loudspeakers, each providing 40-degree by 40-degree asymmetrical (down-angle) dispersion. Supplied in optional white cabinets to match the aesthetics at the platform, all four are arranged in a tightly packed formation.
Because of the unconventional layout of the room, the transition zones between adjacent loudspeakers couldn’t be confined to the aisles. Instead, transition occurs in the midst of the seating sections, but according the Lange, this has not proven to be a detriment. “Much to our delight, we found there is very little - if any - interaction between the boxes. Coverage is seamless. You really can’t audibly discern the transition points where one box hands coverage over to its neighboring box,” he notes.
The MQH Series loudspeakers also solved another problem – no subwoofers allowed in this system. With a dual-15-inch-woofer low-frequency section, solid bass response down to about 40 Hz (10 dB down point) can be attained, again, with tight control attained down to the 200 Hz point. “The double 15’s generate plenty of low-end energy. Obviously, subs could make the lows even bigger, but that wasn’t an option on this project,” Lange says. “At the outset, another one of our goals was for this system to accommodate touring Christian rock groups, and the LF section of the MQH boxes has led to realizing this goal.”