Churches and Places of Worship

We approach the problems of installing sound systems in places of worship with the same degree of care and expertise, which we take in all our work. Many so-called sound professionals use a certain type of equipment because it is to their advantage, not the clients.

Churches and other similar architectural spaces suffer from an acoustical effect called reverberation. This is usually a problem when the delayed (or reflected) sound is loud enough and separated from the original sound so as to interfere with the original in such a way to cause intelligibility problems.
Reverberation is a very complex subject, some auditoriums are sort by the worlds best recording engineers because of their unique reverberation, other spaces exhibit characteristics that effectively make any form of sound reinforcement impossible.

You will read claims made by some manufacturers that their devices can cure reverberation, or that they can engineer reverberation out of the building by just placing a loudspeaker in a particular corner.

There are only two ways of overcoming reverberation.

1) Alter the space that produces it,

You can do this physically by moving walls, introducing acoustic traps and dampening materials or getting it right in the first place by using Fibonacci golden sections. Alternatively by using the acoustic models and techniques similar to those used to create the Sage Centre in Gateshead now generally accepted as the finest acoustic space on the planet.

2) Do not make a sound in the first place!

You will then not excite the reverberant field, and consequently will have
no adverse effects. This technique could be called low level diversity, taken to its extreme everyone will end up wearing headphones.

The solution is to work with the reverberation and engineer a system that is capable of providing an intelligible and cohesive sound.

You will certainly encounter installation companies and manufacturers that will imply that they can alter the effect with their equipment.

There is no such device as an anti verb.

Once a sound is made, it will obey certain fundamental physical principals.
Any loudspeaker will have boundary reflections, unless you strap them to your head, and reduce the sound pressure accordingly, (headphones are a much more comfortable alternative).

A sound system is an investment, if correctly engineered and installed, using quality components it will serve for many years. It should enhance not detract from the experience.

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