To mark its birthday, St John’s Anglican Church has upgraded its sound, turning to Guz Box design + audio and Martin Audio for improved clarity
St John’s Anglican Church in Launceston, Tasmania, is the oldest church in the city. To mark its recent 200th anniversary, the church committee commissioned a major upgrade, using Guz Box design + audio and Martin Audio.
Intelligibility was the main concern for the church, which supports a large proportion of elderly congregants. But speech wasn’t the only consideration, music also informed this upgrade as St John’s continues to hold music performances for its youth services, as well as orchestral and pipe organ recitals.
The founder of Guz Box design + audio, Tim Kuschel, soon discovered the overwhelming number of architectural constraints he would be facing in this heritage-listed building. Demanding acoustics and multiple reflections were just a couple of issues that Kuschel found after using EASE software and models in AutoCAD to conduct acoustic measurements.
The church’s high concrete dome was also another major issue. Instead of suspending the main arrays from this architectural feature, custom brackets were made to mount the speakers above the floor. Despite the constraints, the solution created respected the building’s acoustics, in addition to its aesthetics.
The installation ensured that reflected energy could be controlled
After evaluation, Kuschel decided to use Martin Audio’s O-Line modular micro-array set-up to enhance coverage in the space. “This offered the most consistent results across the seating areas,” Kuschel rationalised. “With its compact form factor, O-Line excels in houses of worship where speech intelligibility is the primary function.”
Low-end support was delivered via six SX110 sub-bass arrays, discreetly placed under the main stage. Meanwhile, infill came from compact CDD5 and CDD6 speakers, carefully positioned in side chapels and choir stalls. The result has been a system that balances clarity and reverberation.
This upgrade has enhanced worship without compromising the church’s heritage – part of a wider trend in sacred spaces that are turning to AV.
Find out more about Martin Audio at martin-audio.com
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