having a single huge outlay of cash all at once. Parts of the old sound system can then be either sold, often to another smaller house of worship, or repurposed in another part of the facility such as the youth centre.”
Two Active Audio SA180P column speakers were installed in the central prayer area of the Great Mosque of St Etienne. The HOW system includes also a Symetrix processor and Cloud amplifiers
“Third step: replace all the microphones – a manufacturer like Clockaudio has products with really good results for example.
“Fourth step: Do not hesitate to add a subwoofer which will give a stunning effect for music diffusion from a CD player. You will then be able to listen to Bach with a breathtaking sound! The best subwoofer I used so far for a really reasonable price is the CMS SUB by Focal.”
Schwartz, likewise, looks at all elements of the system. “The greatest
value of the digital mixing console in a house of worship is the ability to save and recall presets,” he notes. “That makes it relatively easy for less experienced volunteers to come in and recall the presets for each service. Another upgrade for older systems can be the purchase of a new system processor and the hire of a professional to come in and tune the system. Planning purchases can help spread the cost over a greater period of time, meaning the desired system performance can be obtained without
Growth and development “We are able to help HOWs develop their systems as they grow with additional speakers, delays, sub bass, processing and amplification,” adds Ellis. “We are currently working with a new 1,000-seat church where the initial full-scale EVF flown system with delays and sub bass was over budget, so we helped them scale back to a smaller system. The installer will put in the infrastructure and flying points ready for the complete system as and when they want it. Infrastructure is all- important and a good HOW installer will always try to put in more than enough infrastructure to future-proof the system, and lots of Cat5 as more and more systems are networked.” The big prize for integrators, in this as in any market, is the development of a lasting relationship, based on showing clients how installing a properly thought-out system can not only save them money in the long term, but also allow for easy and cost- efficient upgrading. The most important job might be making this more intelligible to those who control the HOW’s purse strings. IE
‘A good HOW installer will always try to put in more than enough infrastructure to future-proof the