A Renkus-Heinz line array was recently installed at the beautiful St Luke Greek Orthodox Church, in Pennsylvania, to fix poor sound that caused multiple complaints from attendees. The church is famous for its magnificent Byzantine architecture and elaborate iconography. But the high-domed ceilings, expansive nave, and traditional orthodox design, posed significant acoustical challenges.
Tests revealed a reverberation peak of 3.38 seconds, meaning congregation members were struggling to hear the spoken word clearly, leading to the high number of complaints.
Seeking a solution that would preserve the church’s aesthetic beauty and elevate the auditory experience, the team at project integrator Spinnaker selected the Iconyx Gen5 Series IC24 column array from Renkus-Heinz as a sound reinforcement system.
The system is powered by a Yamaha MTX5D processor and TF Rack, with control via an iPad. This allows church staff to easily adjust settings as needed, making the system more user-friendly.
Fenicia Redman, VP of project development, Spinnaker, said: “The congregation was vocal about the issue. Many elderly members expressed frustration that they couldn’t clearly hear the liturgy. We knew we had to find a solution that provided pristine intelligibility while maintaining the church’s sacred atmosphere.
“We needed a solution that would blend seamlessly with the church’s visual aesthetics. The IC24-RN was the perfect fit, as it provided excellent dispersion while being visually unobtrusive.”
By leveraging Renkus-Heinz’s advanced OmniBeam beam-steering technology, Spinnaker said she was able to focus sound exactly where it was needed, avoiding the excessive reflections that had previously muddied the spoken word.
While the installation itself was straightforward, a particular challenge was protecting the church’s ornate interior. “The walls are adorned with 24-karat gold leaf,” Redman said. “We had to be incredibly careful during the installation process to ensure nothing was damaged. Our team took meticulous precautions, and in the end, everything went smoothly.”
Another consideration was ensuring that the new sound system complemented the church’s existing acoustics. “Rather than fighting against the natural acoustics, we worked with them,” Redman explained. “The Renkus-Heinz system allowed us to reinforce speech while still allowing the beauty of the choral music to shine through. It was about precision rather than force.”
Renkus-Heinz says the installation has received positive feedback from parishioners of all ages.
