Established in 2000, House of Praise is one of the parishes of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, which is one of the fastest-growing churches in the world, with over 32,000 parishes in over 180 countries. Guided by Pastor Wale Akinsiku and Co-Pastor Tope Akinsiku, House of Praise recently moved into a new, larger location. To ensure the best possible sound reinforcement, a new sound system that draws from the Event series catalog of Valencia, Spain-based DAS Audio was deployed.
Ashen White Audio Visual Executives of Mississauga, Ontario, an AV design / build firm that addresses the commercial, worship, and education markets and also operates a live event production division, was contracted to design and install the new sound system at House of Praise. Working in conjunction with David Gardner, President of Supreme Media Distributions of Pickering, Ontario, which serves as the authorized distributor of DAS products in the region, the Ashen White team deployed a loudspeaker system that consists of 28 DAS Event-210A 3-way powered line array enclosures augmented by 12 DAS Event-218A powered sub bass enclosures, along with 10 DAS Event-210A 3-way powered stage monitors. Mike Greco, Account Executive and Production Designer for Ashen White discussed the project.
“House of Praise recently upgraded their facilities, as they are growing dramatically,” Mike explained. “Their old sanctuary seated 500 people and the new one seats 1500. Services are contemporary in nature and include both a praise band and a vocal team. The space measures 90 feet wide by 160 feet long and there is a 20 foot by 40 foot stage with a side wing for the praise band.”
To properly cover the space, Mike and his crew flew three loudspeaker clusters across the front of the stage area. The right and left hangs each consist of six DAS Event-210A powered line array enclosures while the center cluster employs four Event-210A boxes and is positioned to cover the immediate downfill area directly in front of the stage. Spread across the front of the stage floor, there are six DAS Event-210A stage monitors. Another four such enclosures are used by the praise band off to the side of the stage.
This setup is augmented by a combination of subwoofers and a delay system. The Ashen White team placed twelve DAS Event-218A subwoofers across the front edge of the stage area within specially designed spaces that neatly position the subwoofers under the stage. These enclosures produce plenty of low-end support for the flown loudspeakers overhead. Completing the setup is a delay system, with two additional flown loudspeaker clusters—each consisting of six DAS Event-210A enclosures—that reside approximately 60 feet back from the front of the stage area.
When queried about those attributes that made the DAS Event series loudspeakers the ideal choice for this project, Mike offered the following thoughts, “Being a 3-way enclosure, the Event-210A is an extremely musical loudspeaker. Music plays a vital role in the church’s services and the DAS loudspeakers reproduce that music with excellent detail and clarity. Equally important is speech intelligibility, because without that, the congregation has trouble understanding what’s being said. In this regard, the Event-210A is terrific. Combined with first-rate hardware that makes these loudspeakers much easier to fly and position, they make a terrific setup. Combined with the powerful, articulate low end produced by the Event-218A subs, this is one rockin’ system!”
Mikewas equally enthusiastic about his company relationship with Supreme Media Distributions, “We have a great relationship with David Gardner and his company. They’ve helped us put together some really impressive installs over the years and we’ve developed a lot of trust between our two companies.” David echoed Mike’s sentiment, “Mike and I have developed a mutual trust that has resulted in several terrific DAS projects. Mike has high standards, and he trusts my input. This has resulted in a solid relationship for both companies.”
The House of Praise installation occurred in late July 2020, with the first use of the system coming shortly after. Since then, Mike reports the system has been very well received. “We’ve received numerous kudos for the system, including from church management and members of the congregation. The music reproduction and the clear, articulate dialog this system produces have really impressed people. Simply put, it’s been a win-win for everyone involved.”
