Johns Creek UMC

Sound system for spoken word and music

CLIENT

Johns Creek UMC

INDUSTRY

Religious

LOCATION

Johns Creek, GA

DATE

November 2017

TECH

Video

dBASI_JohnsCreekUMC-11-int-2 - dB Integrations

Our Solution Story

Johns Creek United Methodist Church is located in the northern Atlanta suburb of Johns Creek and is home to a vibrant music ministry and a beautifully restored, historic pipe organ. The church’s sanctuary is quite reverberant — a great quality for musical performances but not for understanding the spoken word.

Audio

The leadership at Johns Creek UMC desired to improve intelligibility of speech in the sanctuary. Sermons, readings, and announcements in the “live” space were muddled and difficult to understand. This problem is usually resolved with the installation of acoustical panels to dampen sound reverberation, but the music program wished to retain that reverb to enhance its musical performances.

Audio

The sanctuary measures 150 feet wide by 100 feet deep, with a large balcony spanning the width of the room. With a room this large the reverb time is very long, and the existing column speakers could not cover the space with sufficient intelligibility. We installed two Danley Sound Labs loudspeakers to provide the directivity necessary for consistent coverage as well as excellent intelligibility for the entire main seating area. Additional loudspeakers provide audio coverage to the balcony seating.

We integrated these speakers into the existing mixing console and sound system, along with new power amplifiers, digital signal processing, and a few small fill speakers for the choir loft. A small touch panel at the media booth now enables simple control of the audio system for events requiring minimal audio sources. Previously installed delay speakers underneath the balcony have been rendered unnecessary by the more natural sound coverage of the dB-installed speakers.

Recap

Now members of the Johns Creek UMC can understand sermons and scripture readings as well as songs, providing a more complete worship experience for the congregation.