Al Fanny looks to Mackie to solve acoustical problems at St. Therese Basilica
Published: MEA
EGYPT: Egyptian distributor Al Fanny Trading was recently called in to help solve the Basilica of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus' sonic challenges. It installed a system based around four Mackie HDA two-way arrayable powered loudspeakers.
As Al Fanny's Rami Saad explains, the church's previous system was not up to the task. ‘They had a system of 10 speakers installed on the columns, but the sound quality was pretty much unacceptable,’ he said. ‘People could not understand the sermon, and the balance between the choir and the spoken word was very poor.’
As with many of the grand basilicas, the room's acoustics have long been a challenge. Soaring walls, marble floors, wooden pews, and a massive 25m high dome ringed with windows are just the beginning of a highly reflective environment that makes intelligibility nearly impossible. The walls of the church are decorated with an ornate mosaic, which, while beautiful to behold, only adds to the reflectivity of the space.
The HDA system was selected not just for its power, but also for its processing and pattern control. ‘It was no problem to find speakers that were loud, or speakers with good sound quality,’ Mr Saad explained. ‘The challenge was to find speakers that could direct the sound toward the people, not toward the walls. The HDA speakers did exactly that, and very well. And the HDA's high-definition processing delivers a very high degree of intelligibility, which is essential for a challenging environment like this one.’
The choir area has been equipped with several SRM450v2 loudspeakers for monitoring. ‘The choir are standing higher on a platform, and the sound coming out of the main speakers didn't really provide them with enough coverage,’ said Mr Saad. ‘The SRM speakers are a great solution.’
As the final piece to the sound system, Al Fanny installed a Mackie Onyx 24.4-Bus console. ‘The Onyx console sounds wonderful - very clean and clear,’ noted Mr Saad. ‘The system has made a big difference for them already, and everyone is very pleased.’