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SI AINSTALLATION
The battle of architecture versus acoustics is an age-old
conundrum for churches, mosques, temples, and other houses of
worship throughout the world. These large, open spaces with
soaring walls and windows, vast reective surfaces of marble,
stone, wood, and concrete are designed primarily for their
aesthetics; acoustical considerations, if any, are focused on
reverberation that accentuates choir and organ, at the expense of
spoken word intelligibility.
St Paul's Church, situated in the Musaffah Industrial Area of Abu
Dhabi, is a stunningly beautiful space - a large, open, circular hall
with marble oors, curved walls, wooden pews, and more than its
share of acoustical challenges. Intelligibility was elusive, and the
church had been through no fewer than 15 different sound
systems over the years in search of a solution that would enable
the congregants to hear parish priest Father Ani Xavier and his
assistant priests.
"It was one of the parishioners that got in touch with us," recalls
Laurane Zeta Johnson, Manager of Business & Operations at
Crownstar Technology- the integrator of the install. "They could
hear that there was a problem at the church, and they asked if we
could give some advice and possibly rectify the issue. We then
made contact with the priests.”
As Sabu John, Managing Director of Crownstar Technology,
observes, the space had an echo time of several seconds. "I
recalled that the State Mosque of Qatar in Al Khuwair,
which has a capacity of 30,000, had experienced
similar issues, and had installed a Renkus-Heinz
ICONYX system. The feedback there had been
excellent, so I personally visited the mosque
to hear it for myself. Afterwards, I contacted
Renkus-Heinz to nd out more, as we had
never specied their systems before."
Iconyx Steers Clarity at Abu Dhabi St Paul's Church
The church holds a traditional English service, as well as an Indian
service featuring drums and percussion, creating additional
challenges for the highly reective sanctuary.“It's not a small building, and they want the music loud, but
without the echo," John reports. "They also didn't want to disturb
the interior design aesthetics with any acoustic treatment."
Crownstar designed a simple solution with a main PA comprising
two Renkus-Heinz Iconyx IC24-16-RN digitally steerable line array
loudspeakers, mounted left and right of the proscenium. A pair of
CF81-2R two-way active loudspeakers is located in front of each
of the two pulpits, serving as front lls. The choir, situated at left
in front, is served by a pair of CF121M-2 two-way monitors, with
an additional unit for the priests."Previously, the choir had only one speaker," explains John. "With
the CF121M-2 modules we keep the volume low so it doesn't hit
the congregation behind. Now the choir can hear their monitor
feed much more clearly. The monitor on stage provided more
than enough fold back for the priests." A pair of Renkus-Heinz
IC16-RN columns covers the upper balcony, with all speakers
painted white to match the décor.The Iconyx system's beam steering technology proved an ideal
solution for addressing the church's intelligibility issues, with
overwhelmingly positive feedback from priests and congregants
alike. "It is a beautiful and quality sound system and it
reaches all of the people," says a excited Father Ani
Xavier. "We are thankful to Crown Star for their
wonderful service and a good job."http://www.crownstaronline.com
http://www.renkus-heinz.comCrownstar Technology does an iconic installation
“It's not a small building,
and they want the music loud,
but without the echo," John reports.
"They also didn't want to disturb the
interior design aesthetics with
any acoustic treatment.”UAESabu John, Managing Director, Crownstar