Calvary Church in Aurora, Colorado, a growing congregation with an active worship programme, has completed a comprehensive upgrade of its sound system with the installation of a new Meyer Sound LINA system, designed and installed by Octane AVL.
The project replaces an 18-year-old system that had reached its performance limits, transforming the 1,400-seat auditorium into a space defined by clarity, balance, and intelligibility.
According to Thatcher Sanders, design lead at Octane AVL and the project’s conceptual leader, Calvary approached the company with a very clear objective.
Everything was outdated. They had a fairly comprehensive production system that was still working well in other rooms, but in the main auditorium they wanted to make a significant leap forward. They wanted to work with a full band, record, and ensure the sound was clear from the first row to the last, he explains.
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Octane AVL carried out a complete technology upgrade that included audio, lighting, LED, and visual systems, with the Meyer Sound system as the central element.
The team modelled and tuned the system using Meyer Sound MAPP 3D. “Chris Greely, our audio engineer, and I reviewed the design several times to ensure coverage and structural loads”, notes Sanders. “It’s a diamond-shaped room with significant depth and parallel surfaces, so coverage and reflections had to be carefully considered”, adds Jonah Mann, marketing and design manager at Octane AVL.
One of the first steps was addressing the acoustics of the space. “Previously there was virtually no acoustic treatment”, explains Sanders. “Everyone always says ‘let’s kill the room,’ but we prefer to talk about control. We installed four-inch broadband panels on the walls to shape the sound rather than deaden it”. The new system consists of four clusters of eight compact LINA® line array loudspeakers, with six ULTRA-X20™ compact point-source loudspeakers used as front fill. Low frequencies are reinforced by six compact 900-LFC™ subwoofers, three per side in a cardioid configuration. System management and optimisation are handled via Galileo® GALAXY 816 and 408 network platforms.
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Identical eight-element LINA arrays were used for both the main clusters and the out-fill clusters, ensuring phase alignment and a consistent stereo image.
It’s the same array throughout the venue, which ensures phase coherence in the room. It’s a very specific system. Chris even experimented with left-right stereo placement between pairs, so there is full stereo coverage across the space, explains Sanders.
For Calvary Church, the change was immediate. “The difference is dramatic”, says Ian Dizon, pastor and worship leader. “The previous system had many reflections and dead spots. With the new one, the clarity is incredible. Every instrument is clearly defined and the low end has an impressive presence. It feels like being in a completely different building”.
Dizon, who has been with the church for 18 years, says the improvement has transformed both the worship experience and the confidence of the volunteer technical team. “That struggle between volume and intelligibility no longer exists”, he explains. “Before, if something couldn’t be heard, you simply turned it up and the reflections got worse. Now people can hear themselves sing, but in a way that invites participation. It’s a perfect balance”.
The collaboration between Octane AVL and the church went beyond technology. To avoid interrupting weekly services, the installation was carried out in two-day phases spread over several months. “That allowed us to focus on the details and build a very close relationship with the church team”, comments Sanders. “In the end, we felt like part of their family”. For Dizon, the investment has already paid off.
We thought the building might soon feel too small for us, but now it feels like it has been given a new lease of life. Next year we will add another service, and the new sound system has improved the experience for everyone, he concludes.
Image credits: Jonah Mann
