Christ Baptist Church invests in Ashly Audio
Published: WORSHIP
WORLD: Provision Audio/Video Services recently designed and installed a sound reinforcement system including Ashly Audio amplifiers and processing for the new Christ Baptist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. Christ Baptist used to use a converted office building as its worship centre until funds were raised for a larger space, now boasting a 1,200-seat sanctuary with a 150-seat choir.
‘Christ Baptist Church is a very traditional Baptist church,’ explained John Linden, managing owner of Provision AVS. ‘Their music is primarily orchestral and choral with a sixteen voice organ. The church wanted an appropriate acoustic space to support their worship style.’
A digital snake from the stage feeds a DiGiCo SD9 digital console at FOH. The main sound reinforcement system is comprised of a pair of Renkus Heinz ICLive-dual steerable column arrays. Two Danley TH-212 subwoofers provide deep low-end support, whilst two Ashly KLR-3200 dual-channel amplifiers, each running in bridged mono mode, power the subwoofers.
‘We went with Ashly amplification based on its sound quality and value,’ said Mr Linden. ‘They have a low-noise floor and clean output. The KLR-3200 allowed us to order the power we need. On Ashly’s ne Amplifiers, we can add DSP as needed and specify the input configuration. The ne Series includes networking capability. It’s like having a huge menu of options, and we can pick exactly the right combination of features so as to maximise system performance at the minimum cost. Reliability is also a factor. In the many years we’ve been using them, we’ve had very few problems. In fact, we have never had an Ashly amp fail.’
Two Ashly ne8800 Protea DSPs provide all of the necessary processing for the main system. To complement the formats on the upstream devices, one is outfitted with standard analogue inputs, whereas the other is outfitted with AES/EBU digital inputs. One ne8800 handles all of the processing requirements for the main system, including the subwoofers. The other handles all of the processing requirements for the floor monitors and satellite systems.
In addition to input control at the DiGiCo console, the FOH operator can remotely control the Ashly DSP via multiple pages of intuitive, custom GUIs that determine the operation of the main system and the various systems that support it.
Four K-array KV50 miniature column loudspeakers powered by an Ashly ne800 amplifier provide front- and side-fill for the main system. A total of 33 70V SoundTube SM31 loudspeakers cover the choir loft. An Ashly ne8250.70pe provides power, whilst its optional on-board DSP allowed Provision to custom tailor the frequency and dynamic response across eight separate zones in the choir loft.
Similarly, an Ashly ne4250.70pe amplifier with optional DSP controls an overflow system in the adjoining Fellowship Hall. Finally, a pair of Ashly KLR-2000 amplifiers powers the smaller systems in the adjacent choir room and the gathering hall.
‘The sound quality on the Ashly processors is impeccable; they’re very musical,’ Mr Linden enthused. ‘They’re easy to program and operate and are a remarkable value for the church.’