Lightning-struck First FWB Church rebuilds with WorxAudio
Published: WORSHIP
WORLD: Sound Advice was recently contracted to handle the installation of the new sound reinforcement and video projection systems at North Carolina’s First FWB Church. The worship centre recently re-opened its sanctuary after experiencing extensive damage as a result of a lightning strike.
The fire and subsequent water damage forced church management to make major repairs to the space, including the installation of a new A/V setup – leading them to opt for TrueLine and WaveSeries loudspeaker systems from WorxAudio Technologies.
After consulting with church management to determine their expectations, Sound Advice president David Evans designed a loudspeaker system consisting of a WorxAudio TrueLine X3i-P all-in-one compact line array, augmented by three WaveSeries 8A passive loudspeakers, three WaveSeries 12M cabinets and a TL218SS sub bass speaker system.
‘First FWB Church’s sanctuary is octagonal in shape,’ explained Mr Evans. ‘The stage/pulpit area is located along one of the eight walls and it faces directly into the centre of the space, which has seating for approximately 300 people. Services are contemporary in nature and include lots of music – with support from both a sizeable praise band and a vocal ensemble. After consulting with management, I learned that the previous sound reinforcement installation included multiple loudspeakers placed around the sanctuary and, at any given time, people could hear two-to-three individual loudspeakers as opposed to a more unified, cohesive sound reinforcement delivery. As a result, there were considerable phasing and delay issues, which significantly reduced speech intelligibility.
‘By contrast, we wanted a point source solution that could provide the punch they needed as well as a high level of speech intelligibility and clarity for music reproduction,’ he explained. ‘With that in mind, I selected the WorxAudio TrueLine X3i-P line array system for a centre cluster. We’ve deployed this loudspeaker system in a number of churches and have consistently had excellent results with it.’
The new sound reinforcement system is built around the TrueLine X3i-P line array, which is suspended from the ceiling with pipe attaching to the TrueLine mini-beam positioned at the centre-front edge of the stage area at a height of approximately 5m for the lower extremity of the cluster. The system is powered by a PXD-2580 digital power amplifier.
Meanwhile, three WaveSeries 8A enclosures are mounted atop the X3i-P line array. Two of these loudspeakers serve as side-fills and face forward, while the third enclosure is aimed down at the stage area and functions as a monitor system for the pastor and others. Both are painted white to match the aesthetics of the sanctuary.
On stage, the church’s new sound reinforcement system includes three WaveSeries 12M speakers that serve as floor monitors. The 12M enclosures are positioned on the left and right front edges of the stage area, while the third loudspeaker is provided for the praise band, which sits toward stage left. All three enclosures are painted black and are driven by Crown Audio and QSC Audio power amplifiers.
A single TL218SS subwoofer completes the church’s new sound system, which is positioned to the left of centre stage under the drum platform. ‘The TL218SS is a monster subwoofer,’ Mr Evans remarked. ‘This single enclosure provides a very full, deep low end that gives the entire loudspeaker setup tremendous depth.
‘Everyone at First FWB Church has been extremely happy,’ he added. ‘The audio quality and overall capabilities of the new sound system are very impressive and church management has been extremely complimentary. We’ve also had several visitors from a nearby church stop by to hear the system and they too were very impressed – so much so in fact, that we’re currently awaiting our deposit to start a project for them. When one job leads to another, that’s as good as it gets,’ he concluded.