Another criterion was that the flown main speakers should provide a full range, punchy sound without too much reliance on sub bass. The centre’s previous system lacked headroom and the subwoofers – located beneath the stage with a tendency to be uncontrolled and ‘boomy’ – were used to compensate.
LMC designed a system consisting of left and right hangs of GEO S12, each comprising two S1210 and one S1230 modular cabinets. The hall was producing large amounts of reverberation, and this has been minimised by using these highly directional loudspeakers and designing the system to cover only the required areas. The line array system also directs vertical energy away from the high ceiling. The speakers in the left and right hangs were fitted with 120 degree flanges as the room is very wide.
Two further S1230s, one per side, have been flown vertically for outfill to the extreme sides of the venue. Two RS15 subwoofers are installed underneath the stage, while four PS8 monitors across the front of the stage provide front fill. The system is being driven by two NXAMP 4×4 Powered TDControllers.
James Lawford, sales manager at LMC Birmingham who handled the technical specification and document proposal, also carried out loudspeaker predictions using NEXO NS-1 simulation software. “This allowed the exact configuration to be determined before a speaker was even installed,” he says. “The real world performance matched the prediction with great accuracy.”
Running down to 85hz, the GEO S12 cabinets can provide most of the bass energy the system needs, with the RS15 subs used to add weight to the bass guitar, kick drum and low keyboard sounds.
“The spoken word is of critical importance in a church environment, so intelligibility was key to this installation,” says Lawford. “The GEO S12 system provides crystal clear speech coverage across the whole room. The addition of front fills helps locate the perceived sound source back to the stage instead of overhead for the people closest to the stage. The addition of front fills also ensures the church leadership, sitting on the front row, can hear!”
Finally, the solution proved cost-effective for the centre. “NEXO products are extremely high quality but represent excellent value for money,” says Lawford. “The modular rigging system requires only the necessary parts to be purchased. And buying a high quality system saves money in the long term by not needing upgrades in the foreseeable future.”
www.lmcaudio.co.uk