Engineering Approach
How we design these systems
Sanctuary audio: coverage, intelligibility, gain before feedback
A church sound system lives or dies on three measurements: SPL coverage (every seat gets enough level), intelligibility (every word of the message is clear), and gain before feedback (the pastor can move around without the mics ringing). We design with EASE or similar acoustic modeling software to predict coverage, then verify on-site with SMAART or Rational Acoustics measurement. Line arrays from L-Acoustics, d&b, JBL, or EAW work for rooms over 500 seats; point source systems work for smaller rooms. Subwoofer placement matters more than most integrators realize.
Mic choice for pastors, worship team, and choir
Pastors wear Shure Axient, Shure ULX-D, or Sennheiser EW-DX lavalier or headset wireless — we spec based on frequency coordination and how many simultaneous channels you need. Worship team vocalists get dynamic handhelds (Shure SM58, Sennheiser e935) or condenser handhelds on wireless. Choir coverage uses overhead condensers (AKG C391, DPA 4011) on the choir loft or hanging positions. Instrument mics follow standard studio practice.
Live streaming that doesn't sound terrible
A stream that sounds like the room instead of a broadcast is the mark of a well-designed system. We deliver a separate broadcast mix — not the house mix — through a broadcast console (Allen & Heath dLive, Avid S-series, or Yamaha DM7 with matrix) or a dedicated engineer's station. The stream gets compression, limiting, EQ, and level management independent of what's happening in the room. Video streams to YouTube, Church Online, Resi, BoxCast, or your own CDN.
Volunteer-friendly control
Most churches can't staff a paid audio engineer. We deploy Allen & Heath SQ or Avantis, Midas M32/X32, Yamaha QL/CL, or Digico SD-series with scenes pre-programmed for typical services. Saturday practice captures levels, Sunday morning recalls them. We build a printed cheat sheet that lives at the mix position. We train your tech team — usually 4-8 volunteers — in a full weekend session after install.
Stage lighting that supports worship
Lighting is a spiritual tool, not a concert effect. We design lighting around the pastor first (flat, even key light so the cameras and the room both see clearly), then the worship team (wash and key for IMAG), then atmosphere (haze, wash, and moving heads for musical moments). ETC Source Four LEDs, Chauvet Rogue moving heads, and ETC ColorSource console covers most needs. We program show files and train your lighting volunteer.
Broadcast and IMAG
Image magnification on the screens behind or beside the stage requires robotic PTZ cameras (Panasonic AW-UE series, Sony BRC, or Marshall CV-series) driven by a video switcher (Blackmagic ATEM, Ross Carbonite, or NewTek TriCaster). We build preset shots, program transitions, and train your video director. Projectors for IMAG are typically 20,000-40,000 lumen laser models from Christie, Barco, or Panasonic.
