SYMETRIX' SymNet CONTROLS THE SOUND SYSTEM IN OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE CHURCH

This content is brought to you by Audiocourses dot com

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA: When Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish wanted a new sound system, intelligibility, aesthetics and reliability were the overriding goals. But another factor, perhaps less acknowledged during the initialplanning, ended as a major consideration, and one that was solved by Symetrix Inc.'s SymNet Audio Matrix, a modular system for mixing, routing, and processing audio.

As part of its sound system upgrade work at the huge 7,000-seat Sacramento, California church, system integrator Art of Sound installed a Symetrix SymNet 8x8 DSP processor to achieve extensive front end sound system control.

"The unit's automatic mixing feature, combined with additional signal processing for mics and line arrays, gave the church the ability to easily manage and control the sound system. This was an important consideration given the varied demands placed on it," says Art of Sound integrator, Alonso Camacho, the system designer on this project.

Through the use of a SymNet Adaptive Remote Control (ARC), presets for Monday through Friday masses, as well as Saturday and Sunday masses, live radio transmission masses, and volume control of the narthex and transept areas were made available. The remote selects preset configurations for these and other system applications, and gives the church an unparalleled level of operational ease, Camacho says.

In addition to installing SymNet, Art of Sound installed AXYS(r) Intellivox, a digitally controlled loudspeaker array, whose high accurate directivity delivered the needed speech intelligibility and an even sound pressure level from the front of the nave to the rear of the church, a distance of some 100 feet. Intelligibility was a major concern, given the fact that the facility was designed largely to complement organ pipes and choral singing. Consequently, the spoken word has not been treated equally well by the facility's acoustics.

Art of Sound, Sacramento, California, used the Symetrix SymNet Audio Matrix System for the front-end sound system control in Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish.

"Unfortunately, when selecting their original sound system, little or no design was used to select the proper configuration to adequately work and provide speech intelligibility," Camacho says. "Many years went by with constant complaints and frustrations by the parish, congregation and sound technicians."

Another bonus of the speaker selection was its low profile. The units' four-inch drivers and small physical width allowed the speakers to be concealed against the column from which they were suspended. A single line array was integrated to cover about 95 percent of the main sanctuary. The remaining five-percent, as well a gallery area, was covered with two additional boxes.

Also part of the design were Audio Technica 5000 series wireless microphones, and Countryman E-6 discrete head-worn microphones, used to interface with the wireless systems. A Tascam CDA-500 provided CD and cassette playback. The SymNet 8x8 processes the signal feed for six Community CPL-23WT loudspeakers that serve the transept and lobby areas.

Since installing the system, Our Lady of Guadalupe has won over its parishioners. Many congregation members have noted how much the intelligibility has improved. Less apparent to the congregation, however, is the level of control and sound processing detail that has been made possible by SymNet.

Audio Gear: * Axys Intellivox-6c (Nave) * Axys Intellivox-2b (Nave/Fill) * Axys Intellivox-2b (Gallery) * Community CPL-23WT (Transept #1) * Community CPL-23WT (Transept #2) * Community CPL-23WT (Lobby/ x4) * Symetrix SymNet 8X8 DSP * Symetrix SymNet ARC * QSC ISA-500Ti * Audio Technica 5000 Series Wireless * Countryman E-6 Head Worn Microphones * Tascam CDA-500