Henderson Church of Christ wanted to ensure the best possible audio clarity in their new sanctuary. With the recent installation of their new sound reinforcement system, the church achieved their goal – thanks to the deployment of line array technology drawn from the TrueLine catalog of WorxAudio Technologies, a division of PreSonus Audio Electronics.
Tennessee Concert Sound, a design / build firm that, in addition to its installation division, also has an enviable track record in production and live event services, was contracted to design and install the church’s new sound system. After consulting with church leaders and surveying the room, the firm ultimately decided to deploy 12 WorxAudio X1i-P powered line array loudspeakers. Jarred Clayton, Tennessee Concert Sound’s Sales and Design representative, discussed the project.
“The new sanctuary at Henderson Church of Christ is an expansion to the church’s original building,” Jarred explained. “The shape of the space is similar to that of a baseball diamond, with the pulpit being positioned at Home plate and facing out into the congregation. The back wall is roughly 100 feet from the pulpit while ceiling height is approximately 28 feet. The room accommodates 1,150 people with fixed wood pews and padding for 950 people and two stadium seating areas along the rear left and right of the room – each with 100 seats. Further, the floor inclines three ft from the front to the rear of the room.
“Henderson Church of Christ is very traditional in terms of its worship services,” Jarred continued. “Acapella singing is led by a worship leader from the pulpit microphone while the congregation sings along. Lessons and prayers are also delivered from behind the same pulpit microphone. Clarity of the spoken word is extremely important, so finding a loudspeaker system that delivered high levels of speech intelligibility was crucial. Because of the way the room ‘fans out’ from the pulpit, broad horizontal dispersion was another extremely important consideration, and these two priorities are what ultimately led us to WorxAudio’s X1i-P powered line array system.”
The WorxAudio X1i-P powered line array is a self-powered, 2-way, high efficiency, ultra-compact loudspeaker system that incorporates a 1-inch exit high frequency compression driver and dual 8-inch cone transducers for the low frequencies. The integrated digital power amplifier provides 350 watts each for the high and low frequencies. This line array element also has an unusually broad 160-degree horizontal dispersion pattern – making it an ideal choice for the broad coverage area immediately in front of the pulpit. “The broad horizontal coverage of these arrays was the one of the main reasons behind our choice of the WorxAudio X1i-P,” Jarred reported. “We would have had to go with three clusters with most other install line arrays.”
The church’s new sound reinforcement system consists of two flown clusters in a left-right configuration – each with six enclosures – that are located above the pulpit on the outer edge of the stage. Each cluster is flown at a height of 27 feet at the top, with the bottom element at approximately 22 feet. The loudspeakers are suspended using WorxAudio’s TrueAim Grid via the company’s TrueRig 8-inch beam clamps and 1.5-inch couplers.
When queried about those attributes that made the WorxAudio X1i-P loudspeakers the best choice for the project, Jarred offered: “We are very picky when it comes to the choice of loudspeakers we will install. While sound quality and overall system performance are certainly important, another consideration is the ease of installation. WorxAudio definitely has the techniques and products for an easy installation and aiming of a line array system. Everything from the beam clamps to the schedule 40 pipe couplers and the grids is well thought out and engineered. When the church requested white enclosures to blend with the room’s aesthetics, WorxAudio obliged. Combined with the company’s excellent support services, we were very pleased and, most importantly, our client is extremely happy.”
