After a recent move to La Joliette district, the Jesuit community of Marseille required a brand new audio system for their newly built chapel and adjoining conference room which is housed on the ground floor of their five-storey building, which also hosts private habitations.
The Jesuits were so impressed by Ecclesia Sound’s recent sound upgrade in their Saint-Ferréol church in Marseille – which also boasts Active Audio column speakers – that they trusted again the system integrator with their chapel.
For this project, Ecclesia Sound had the luxury of fitting the cabling prior to construction, ensuring the chapel’s aesthetic would not be compromised: “I got on the project in October 2020, exactly one year before the delivery of the site,” stated Joachim Fritsch, acoustic engineer and founder of Ecclesia Sound. “I was able to redraw the original wiring plans, which also gave me an opportunity to place all the ducts in the right place.”
Active Audio, a brand of Arbane Groupe, has two of its Ray-On 110 passive column loudspeakers installed in the chapel to deliver the sound throughout the hexagon shaped room, which seats up to 60 people. The Ray-On series consists in four models that are suited for small to large-size venues whether standalone or as part of a distributed system for churches, conference rooms, station platforms, shopping malls, etc.
Due to the speaker’s discreet size (128mm width) the system integrator could easily fit the equipment flush with the back-lit stained glass windows to maintain the integrity and beauty of the space.
“A temporary fabric-ceiling had been fitted awaiting the permanent wooden replacement, so ceiling speakers were not an option,” comments Fritsch. “After speaking with the architect, we agreed that aligning the speakers flush with the windows would work. Importantly, the embedded technology in Ray-On speakers means that there is no need to tilt them, which notably improves sound and aesthetics.”
The R110 column loudspeaker boasts a throw range of up to 20m at ±5dB. Ray-On’s patented DGRC technology delivers consistent sound coverage, as well as superior clarity and sound quality traditionally found in high-end controlled directivity systems. A single Powersoft Mezzo 322A amplifier powers both column loudspeakers.
Alongside Active Audio, the audio system is completed by a Shure Microflex MX412 gooseneck microphone, a Sennheiser MEB 114S-W surface microphone, a Shure SLXD/B58 wireless microphone; a Yamaha MTX3 digital processor, and an Apart PCR3000R media player with infrared remote.
The chapel’s adjoining conference room, which is open to the public, also required an entirely new AV system, where Ecclesia Sound installed Yamaha in-ceiling speakers and a subwoofer, all powered by a single Powersoft Mezzo 604a amplifier, which was again chosen for its robust qualities, longevity and energy efficiency.
