Filling a Massive Space at our Lady of Lourdes Church
Built in 1974, Our Lady of Lourdes Church with a motive to ensure the parishioners could hear the message clearly pulled AVL Install India Pvt. Ltd. to get a complete audio system upgrade with AUDIOFOCUS Line Array
With the advent of the new millennium, Our Lady of Lourdes Church with the seating capacity of nearly 600plus has recently saw a complete renovation and nowembraces cutting-edge AUDIOFOCUS ARES 8A line array, MTSUB218MKII, Quest QM3 and QM4 monitors along with a Quest and Allen & Heath QU 32 digital mixer integrated by AVL Install India Pvt. Ltd. team in association with their Indian Distributors –SunInfonet, Delhi.
Client’s Brief
The brief from the client was to provide an intelligent audio system that would enhance the sermons and readings for the regular congregants and not distract from the architectural aesthetics. “One of the main considerations listed for the new sanctuary was to put products capable of delivering a clear understandable speech which would be audible till the end of the church hall along with the monitors and a microphone for father.” Explained Taris, Technical Head, AVL Install India Pvt. Ltd.
Planning & Execution
The project had many technical and other difficulties right from the start to the completion. “The client had approached us after knowing our experience in this industry, and after visiting the sites installed by us.” Says, Taris, Technical Head. “As per client’s request, our team of technical experts visited the site and was convinced that the environment, which includes (length, width, height) is best suited for line array for sound and suggested to the church committee to go with AUDIOFOCUS Line Array system.”
Understanding the fact that this project is going to stand up for ten to fifteen years of time span, the AVL Install team went all the way long. Santhosh Kumar, Director of Projects & Operations, AVL Install India Pvt Ltd. mentioned, “It was not an easy project for us because we had to convince the committee members of the church while competing with multiple brands which had come in for the demonstration of their products.”
Having heard and judged the demonstrations of multiple brands from different sources, the church committee finally decided to install AUDIOFOCUS. Taris says, “AUDIOFOCUS stood on in the segment because it was reachable to the audience lengthwise and capable to deliver clear vocal sound. They had also brought many experienced dignitaries for opinions and fortunately, all of them had given positive reviews which again made it easy for them to conclude on AUDIOFOCUS.”
Systems Integration
AUDIOFOCUS ARES 8-Line Array has been suspended from the roof in the front corners of the sanctuary along with MTSUB218MKIII. “There were two major reasons why we hang these four-line arrays on either side. Firstly, when you place the line array at such a height then it allows the sound to travel more and cover more area with clarity. Secondly, by putting the line array I had avoided putting speakers on the side walls.” explains, Santhosh Kumar.
“Another major reason was the size of the boxes because the line array should not be an obstacle for the people’s eyes as there are many paintings and decors on the wall,” adds Taris.
AVL Technical team has also installed Quest QM3 and QM4 monitors as they proved to be the best match after trying different combinations of the equipment in the church along with Allen & Heath QU 32 digital mixer. “The church doesn’t have any technical operator and therefore, we deployed Allen & Heath QU 32 digital mixer. It is a user-friendly device with multiple outputs given and programmed as show files to function as per the need.” Santhosh Kumar, commented, “Now, the Father of the church can control the audio setup by the mixer.”
Obstacles & Resolutions
Mapping out an audio system on paper was one thing, but it became a completely different ballgame while executing. Santhosh Kumar, says, “Our team went to the church for installation and found that the construction had already been done with all the acoustics. But some of the leftover work like putting in the granite, cleaning up all the things etc. still continued which was a distraction for us to come and work.”
He adds, “One of the major barriers that the installation team had faced was the Electrical wiring which was getting done in an emergency and the electrical load was not getting distributed equally on both the lines. As a result, one line was taking up the biggest load while the other line was not having that much load and the switch was getting off in the trials.”
Later, the AVL team decided to correct it by having separate Electrical DB from different Phase for the audio system which never collided with the lighting of the premises.
Experience & Comments
After a lot of obstacles, the AVL Install India completed the audio installation successfully. “Finally, we would say that the AUDIOFOCUS did well, and everybody liked it. There was a lot of stress we went through during the entire process because if we would not have done the electrical wiring properly then the speakers might have damaged.” Says, Santhosh Kumar.
During this entire setup, Sun Infonet team, the Indian distributors of Audio Focus has also played a significant role. Mr. Hemant Gaba, Senior Manager, Sun Infonet, commented, “This project was important for us as well as for AVL India Pvt. Ltd. team. Every installation project comes with a challenge and this project had its own.” He continued, “Keeping in mind that Church is a place where people go to worship and participate in the Holy Mass, also to listen to the Homily or Word of God. If the pastor or speaker is not audible, people may not be able to understand the majority of what is being said. Important points may be missed, which can create a disconnect between members and the church. Finding high-quality, dependable audio equipment makes a big difference. Integrating the audiovisual elements and using equipment that meets church needs can make a church service run smoother, allowing the message to be communicated more effectively.”
Taris, adds, “We specially thanks Fr Jijo and the committee members for having the confidence in the brand AUDIOFOCUS and in our installation team. As a result, we were able to achieve the desired result and full fill their audio requirement according to their wish. This installation has widened the opportunity for AUDIOFOCUS for many more Churches who desires audibility and clarity.”
After the installation, the services at Our Lady of Lourdes Church appears more dynamic than ever and already playing an important role in ensuring the church message reaches its followers. “When we thought about audio segment to be installed, we had many options in front of us and different brands came with demos. but we trusted in AVL teams suggestions and they told us to with AUDIOFOCUS ARES 8A and we selected the same.” said Rev. Fr. Jijo J Muringathery, Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Peechi. ” After installing the system everyone was excited to hear the audio with such a clarity and commented that this product ideally suits our church environment. Everyone who visits our church appreciates the audio clarity. “
Post the grand inauguration ceremony in September 2018, Our Lady Church is now open for devotees to visit and to experience an invincible sound experience.