Interestingly, the church's media and communications director, Kevin Knox, was initially lukewarm on the idea of a Bose system in the sanctuary. He notes, "I just didn't associate the Bose brand with professional products." His mind was changed after he encountered a RoomMatch system demo at WFX. "[The system] had a real warmth that you don't usually get with a big PA system. It felt like it was right there in the room with you. I got the sense that it would be able to give us what we really needed: good intelligibility in the midrange and full-range sound for music."
The church was leaning in the direction of the RoomMatch system, and it looked to CTS for confirmation - CTS was unversed in the RoomMatch technology, but were likewise convinced and on board with the project after extensive demos and a visit to one of the Bose manufacturing facilities.
First after vetting the design through Bose Modeler sound system software, CTS's Director of AVL Integration, Neal Watson, recommended that they add over-balcony fills. This was not a problem, but it did change the space's low-end characteristics considerably - the original recommendation for Bose RMS215 subwoofers would ideally be augmented with additional 18-inch subs. Unfortunately, at the time, the Bose RMS218 subwoofer had not yet been brought to market.
Bose responded by increasing its manufacturing cycles and getting its first six RMS218 units off the production line and to the installation site. The final system consists of 29 RoomMatch modules of varying coverage patterns, along with 18 Bose PowerMatch amplifiers providing power.
With this PA upgrade, the church's sound matches the quality of its other media: high-definition video cameras from Sony, a Christie Roadster projector and state-of-the-art lighting. The system also gives a much fuller sound to the music at the church's services, featuring a combination of a lively praise-and-worship-style sound and congregational singing. Knox notes the congregation's immediate response: "We got comments about [the fuller sound], but what really told me that the system was a success is that I never heard them sing so loud. It's really engaging them more."
(Jim Evans)
