Experience Church in Puyallup, WA brings its message to parishioners via modern music and technology presented in a 500-seat worship sanctuary that was recently equipped with a new sound reinforcement system utilizing Linea Research amplification and DSP.
Installed more than 15 years ago, the previous sound system was showing its age and in need of an update, leading the church to contact Sumner, WA-based McCauley Systems for advice and consultation. “I’ve had a long-standing relationship with this church, having designed and consulted on the original sound system about 15 years ago,” says McCauley Systems principal Ryan McCauley. “Fundamentally the system is still in good shape, with excellent coverage and impact, but many of the loudspeaker components in particular were approaching the end of their useful lives, and some of the amplification and other electronics were beginning to fail.
“Since I’d designed the original system,” he continues, “I suggested refurbishing that system rather than replacing it. With the advancements in loudspeaker technology, we were able to not only replace the failing components, but update them with more modern versions, far superior in performance and sound quality.”
The existing line arrays – left and right hangs comprising eight dual-8-inch cabinets per side – have been refitted with custom-designed OEM transducers from RMS-Acoustics, with the rack of amplifiers replaced with four Linea Research 44C Series 4-channel Networked DSP amplifiers.
“The Linea amps are immensely powerful and quite simply sound amazing,” states McCauley. “We were able to replace an entire rack of seven amps totaling 14 channels with 16 channels via just four Linea units, two 44C20 and two 44C10, which cuts down on both heat and rack real estate.”
The 44C20 amplifier is stated to deliver four channels of 5,000 watts per channel into 2 ohms, while the 44C10 offers four channels of 2,500 watts per channel. All C Series amplifiers have integrated 96 kHz DSP and network control as standard, including FIR filters on every output, in addition to the more traditional EQ and DSP processing and an optional Dante interface.
“In addition to the obvious hardware improvements with loudspeaker components and amplification, we also upgraded their signal chain to include a Dante digital audio network,” McCauley notes. “They now have a dual redundant, primary/secondary Dante network between the console, amplifiers, and personal mixer system, improving both dependability and sound quality compared to their previous analog system.
Measuring and tuning the room was also a straightforward matter, with McCauley employing Eclipse Audio FIR Filter Designer to create a custom FIR filter from multiple locations in the room. “The Filter Designer software dramatically changes the equation for FIR design in smaller spaces,” he concludes. “We’re able to take the required measurements and design the FIR filter, in less than an hour. It’s a powerful tool.”