Iconyx Gen5s prove their flexibility for US HOWs
Published: WORSHIP
USA: Renkus-Heinz’ latest fifth generation Iconyx steerable arrays have been installed to tackle acoustic issues at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Connecticut and St James Episcopal Church in the Central New York town of Skaneateles. The projects were carried out by Pascom Sound Inc and DCI Sound respectively.
While performing similar duties, both the newly installed Gen5s at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception and St James Episcopal were selected for entirely different reasons. The former was selected more for aesthetic rather than technical reasons and as such was finished in a custom beige colour to match the surroundings. ‘We not only needed a system that looks and sounds good,’ says Pascom Sound president, Peter Scandone Jr, ‘we had to work with layers of marble and decorative columns while being as minimally invasive as possible. Just surface-mounting one IC32-RN array to a column required extreme care.’
A single IC32-RN array, placed stage left and mounted to a large column 30 inches in diameter, covers most of the seating in the main nave. ‘We normally would prefer to use two IC32-RNs,’ he adds, ‘but the space around the altar is not symmetrical, and we didn't have the right situation for a left-right pair. As it turns out, we didn't need a second array. One Gen5 IC32-RN was fully up to the challenge. And it was simpler because we didn't have to account for arrival times from two arrays.’
For St James Episcopal, the main considerations were ensuring direct sound arrived at the congregation and not at the building’s reflective walls and ceiling. ‘Iconyx arrays, with their steered beams, are perfect for this type of space,’ explained DCI Sound president and manager, David May. ‘In addition, Iconyx are very musical and have high output, so they can easily handle the praise band. Iconyx Gen5 is even better because you get a more flexible selection of configurations, with even more precision. That means we can customise Gen5 systems even better for the venue, and we can deliver them for less money.’
Mr May placed an Iconyx Gen5 IC16-RN on house left, and this one column covers the left front corner from approximately the fourth row all the way to the rear of the sanctuary. To cover the remaining right front corner, Mr May selected a Gen5 IC8-RN. He added a dummy IC8 column on top of the real speaker to visually match the IC16-RN on the opposite side.