World Harvest Church reaps Quantum rewards
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The church’s most recent acquisition - a new DiGiCo Quantum338 console, serving as its monitor mixer - is an addition to its existing DiGiCo infrastructure, which includes an SD8 console mixing front of house and an SD-Rack that has now been upgraded to include 32-bit ‘Ultimate Stadius’ microphone pre-amps.
The audio system infrastructure update further involved moving all of the DiGiCo platforms to an Optocore fibre network, handled by Orlando-based Owens Audio Video Design, which also sold the DiGiCo systems, as well as a Nexo PA, when they were installed earlier this year.
“World Harvest Church tends to hang onto their systems and get the most ROI from them as possible, which isn’t unusual,” observes Bob Owens, owner of Owens Audio Video Design. “They’re a long-time customer and a long-time DiGiCo user - we sold and installed the DiGiCo D5 console that they had in the sanctuary for monitors before we sold and installed the SD8 there in 2010. The Q338 is a great choice for them - it takes them light years beyond where the D5 was, with more faders and layers and inputs, but at a very cost-effective price for all that additional capability, plus the Quantum processing, which is a super plus for them.”
The church’s audio team now has 56 32-bit mic pre’s to work with, as well as 64 AES and analogue outputs at monitors. In addition to the new pre’s, the SD-Rack also had new interface cards added, including five analogue cards, two AES cards, a Dante card, and an Aviom interface card for the church’s IEMs. “World Harvest Church’s pastor is pretty outspoken,” says Owens. “When he doesn’t like something, he’ll let you know. But when he does, he’s happy to tell you that, too, and he’s noticed how much better and how much the cleaner the sound in the church has been this year. In fact, everyone’s noticed.”
World Harvest Church audio director Joe Cooper is effusive in his praise of the Q338 as well. “It made a huge difference for us from the very start,” he says. “For starters, the 32-bit mic pre’s mean we can operate at 96k, which makes a big difference in the quality of the sound and gives us so much more headroom. And now that all of the consoles are on an optical loop, we can use the Q338’s control sends to move audio around the network easily if, for instance, we want to send audio back to the front-of-house console for playback for training, virtual soundchecks, or to troubleshoot issues. The flexibility is incredible.”
