Historic Hungarian HOW selects K-Array for inconspicuous sound reinforcement

HUNGARY: The Archabbey of Pannonhalma, built at the beginning of the 13th century in the small town 100km outside of Budapest, Hungary, boasts itself a crowning achievement of the early Gothic style. Three years ago, a thorough renovation of the World Heritage site, constrained by strict architectural guidelines as required by the building’s historical status, included an update of the audio system with small speakers distributed within pews and new lighting fixtures. Due to heavy flaws in that installation and the need for higher sound levels, a new acoustic system was required at the next renovation.

K-Array distributor Audio Partner Ltd received an invitation to demonstrate a new system to provide even coverage and speech intelligibility throughout the church. After an onsite test was conducted during an evening mass to ensure the recommended K-Array system was suitable, the final solution was determined to be eight KZ12W Lyzards (‘ultra-miniaturised’ line array elements), three KV50 Vypers (‘ultra-flat 3D’ line array elements) and one KK102 Kobra (16-transducer line array element) powered by two KA1-1 units and one KA24 amplifier.

The Kobra was installed near the side column of the altar, tilted down to the level of the nave. Two Vypers were aligned on top of each other and were installed on the side columns of the sanctuary while the other Vyper was installed near the font of the baptistery. Given their prominent location, the speakers were encased in a perforated brass structure to match the lighting fixtures and were driven with a KA24 amplifier. Running the length of the aisle, the Lyzards were surface mounted directly on the wall and were customised to match the colour of the stones. The two KA 1-1 amplifiers were used to drive these speakers in eight discrete channels.

The signal processing chain includes EQs for each input and output and a delay matrix to adapt for the relative distances between the loudspeaker and speech positions, while automated mixing with customised manual override control provides ease of use.

Thanks to the careful design and signal processing, the measured intelligibility STI values showed 0.55 in the main area and 0.5 in the aisle when the church is empty. The even coverage was noticeable and much appreciated, according to an Abbey statement: ‘Changing the system has been a significant improvement both in clarity and loudness. And with the processing and the control possibilities, we can match coverage according to occupancy with no dead spots when fully occupied.’

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