A Renkus-Heinz Iconyx Compact system has upgraded the audio at the historic Nagoya Betsuin of the Shinshu Otani-ha temple in Nagoya City, Japan. Commonly known as “Higashi Betsuin”, it has grown into a central place of worship in the Japanese region since its construction in 1632. As well as hosting Buddhist ceremonies and religious events, the temple is used for exchange events and markets.
Renkus-Heinz distributor Beetech installed the Iconyx Compact Series ICC12/3 to resolve the issues of poor audio quality in the Taimensho reception hall, a large, traditional temple structure boasting a grand architectural style built with thick concrete. Buddhist sermons (Hōwa) are delivered here every day, as well as large ceremonies.
Renkus-Heinz says the ICC12/3’s compact design avoided any potential interference with the building’s historic characteristics. The slim cabinets blend with the venue’s pillars for minimum distraction. But the loudspeaker’s high vertical directivity is designed to penetrate acoustically challenging spaces such as the temple.
Where the temple’s previous sound system used portable loudspeakers, the new fixed installation needed to be mounted on the pillars. Due to the temple’s structural limitations, installation locations were restricted and so the team designed custom mounting brackets that allowed the loudspeakers to be positioned more precisely. The brackets were also engineered to be almost invisible behind the array.
Hanging the speakers from the front pillars raised concerns about potential sound distortion; however, Renkus-Heinz says that utilising the ICC12/3’s beam-steering technology ensured minimal reverberation. The technology allowed integrators to freely adjust the output sound angle, allowing precise control over the focus and therefore minimising echoes around the pillars.
Renkus-Heinz’s RHAON II software’s 8-band equaliser was used to adjust the acoustics to match the existing system for input devices such as wireless microphones and mixers.
A representative from the temple explained: “With the introduction of the ICC12/3 system, we were able to deliver sound evenly throughout the room with minimal power. This reduced the need for excessive output to the rear, effectively helping to control reverberation. Since the installation, there have been no complaints during the daily Buddhist sermons. I believe those involved in the setup and tuning worked very hard, and I sincerely appreciate their efforts.”
