Meyer Sound’s CAL fixes intelligibility for Aspen Ridge Church
Published: WORSHIP
WORLD: A steerable Meyer Sound Column Array Loudspeaker system has been installed to tame the reverberant acoustic environment at Aspen Ridge Church in Colorado, US. As the 400-seat space was experiencing severe music and speech intelligibility issues and also doubles as a gymnasium during the week, acoustically treating the room was not an option. The new system was designed by consultant Bob Langlois of Second Opinion Audio and Daryl Porter of Audio/Video/Design/Build (AVDB) Group. It was then installed by AVDB Group and commissioned by Mr Langlois.
‘I've been blown away by the sound quality, and since our worship space doubles as a gymnasium during the week, I'm extremely impressed by the way the CAL directs sound right where the people are, and not on the walls and ceiling,’ stated Kerry Cox, the church's associate pastor of worship arts. ‘We wanted to make the room sound right, and CAL really fits the bill. I was also happy to replace the old cluster with the sleek CAL loudspeakers, which really cleaned up the look of the stage.’
‘Daryl and I took one look at this room, with high ceilings and a wide seating area, and we knew immediately that a CAL solution would be perfect,’ recalled Mr Langlois. ‘The results proved us right. The coverage is smoother, and the congregation has more headroom than it will ever use.’
The installation featured a pair of Meyer Sound CAL 32 loudspeakers, one on either side of the stage, that have been programmed with a three-degree down tilt and a 20-degree vertical beam spread to restrict sound to below 2m in the 400-seat room. The CAL speakers are joined by a 600-HP subwoofer for low end reinforcement.
‘The clarity and accuracy of CAL are phenomenal,’ commented Mr Cox. ‘Also, the uniformity of level from front to back is astonishing – whether you're 3m or 20m away, you're getting the same sound.’
Aside from the new audio system, the church makes use of a wide range of professional audio products including a Yamaha CL3 digital console, Audio-Technica wireless microphone systems, a Country E6 earset mic for the senior pastor and a set of Shure Beta 87A and Beta 58A wired mics. A Biamp Systems mixer and DSP unit accommodates basic uses during the week.