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Filling a massive space at our Lady Church

Built in 1974, Our Lady of Lourdes Church with a motive to ensure the parishioners could hear the message clearly pulled AVL Install India Pvt. Ltd. to get a complete audio system upgrade with Audio Focus Line Array.

With the advent of the new millennium, Our Lady Lourdes Church with the seating capacity of nearly 600 plus has recently saw a complete renovation and now embraces cutting-edge Audio Focus ARES 8 A line array, QM3 and QM4 monitors along with an MT SUB 218 and Allen & Heath QU 32 digital mixer integrated by AVL Install India Pvt Ltd team in association with their Indian Distributors - Sun Infonet, Delhi. Client’s Brief The brief from the client was to provide an intelligent audio system that would enhance the sermons and readings for the regular congregants and not distract from the architectural aesthetics.

 

“One of the main considerations listed for the new sanctuary was to put products capable of delivering a clear understandable speech which would be audible till the end of the church hall along with the monitors and a microphone for father.” Explained Taris, Technical Head, AVL Install India Pvt. Ltd. Planning & Execution The project had many technical and other difficulties right from the start to the completion.

 

“The client had approached us after knowing our experience in this industry, and after visiting the sites installed by us.” Says, Taris, Technical Head. “As per client’s request, our team of technical experts visited the site and was convinced that the environment, which includes (length, width, height) is best suited for line array for sound and suggested to the church committee to go with Audio Focus Line Array system.”

Understanding the fact that this project is going to stand up for ten to fifteen years of time span, the AVL Install team went all the way long. Santhosh Kumar, Director of Projects & Operations, AVL Install India Pvt Ltd. mentioned, “It was not an easy project for us because it was the first time, we were trying to put up the installation in a church for this big a budget."

“We also had to convince the committee members of the church while competing with multiple brands which had come in for the demonstration of their products.” Having heard and judged the demonstrations of multiple brands from different sources, the church committee finally decided to install Audio Focus.

Taris says, Audio Focus stood on in the segment because it was reachable to the audience lengthwise and capable to deliver clear vocal sound. They had also brought many experienced dignitaries for opinions and fortunately, all of them had given positive reviews which again made it easy for them to conclude on Audio Focus.” Systems Integration Audio Focus ARES 8-Line Array has been suspended from the roof in the front corners of the sanctuary along with MT SUB 218.

“There were two major reasons why we hang these four-line arrays on either side. Firstly, when you place the line array at such a height then it allows the sound to travel more and cover more area with clarity. Secondly, by putting the line array I had avoided putting speakers on the side walls.” Santosh explains. “Another major reason was the size of the boxes because the line array should not be an obstacle for the people’s eyes as there are many paintings and decors on the wall,” Taris added. AVL Technical team has also installed QM3 and QM4 monitors as they proved to be the best match after trying different combinations of the equipment in the church along with Allen & Heath QU32 digital mixer.

 

“The church doesn’t have any technical operator and therefore, we deployed Allen & Heath QU32 digital mixer. It is a user-friendly device with multiple outputs given and programmed as show files to function as per the need.” Explained Santosh Kumar. “Now, the Father can control the audio setup by the mixer.”

 

Obstacles & Resolutions Mapping out an audio system on paper was one thing, but it became a completely different ballgame while executing. Santosh Kumar, says, “Our team went to the church for installation and found that the construction had already been done with all the acoustics. But some of the leftover work like putting in the granite, cleaning up all the things etc. still continued which was a distraction for us to come and work.” He adds, “One of the major barriers that the installation team had faced was the Electrical wiring which was getting done in an emergency and the electrical load was not getting distributed equally on both the lines. As a result, one line was taking up the biggest load while the other line was not having that much load and the switch was getting off in the trials.”

Indian Church 2CELater, the AVL team decided to correct it by having separate Electrical DB from different Phase for the audio system which never collided with the lighting of the premises. Experience & Comments after a lot of pressures and obstacles.

The AVL Install India completed the audio installation successfully. “Finally, we would say that we were lucky enough that the audio focus did well, and everybody liked it. There was a lot of tension we went through during the entire process because if we would not have done the electrical wiring properly then the speakers might have damaged.” Says, Santosh Kumar.

During this entire setup, Sun Infonet team, the Indian distributors of Audio Focus has also played a significant role. Mr. Hemant Gaba, Senior Manager, Sun Infonet, commented,This project was important for us as well as for AVL India Pvt. Ltd. team. But every installation project comes with a challenge and this project had its own.” He continued, “Keeping in mind that Church is a place where people go to worship and participate in the Holy Mass, also to listen to the Homily or Word of God. If the pastor or speaker is not audible, people may not be able to understand the majority of what is being said. Important points may be missed, which can create a disconnect between members and the church. Finding high-quality, dependable audio equipment makes a big difference. Integrating the audiovisual elements and using equipment that meets church needs can make a church service run smoother, allowing the message to be communicated more effectively.”

Taris Technical Head AVL Install India PVT LTD, “We specially thanks Fr Jijo and the committee members for having the confidence in the brand AudioFocus and in our installation team. As a result, we were able to achieve the desired result and full fill their audio requirement according to their wish.This installation has widened the opportunity for Audiofocus for many more Churches who desires Audibility and clarity.” Services at Our Lady Church appears more dynamic than ever and already playing an important role in ensuring the church message reaches its followers.

 

“When we thought about audio segment to be installed, we selected Audiofocus Ares 8 for our church. After installing the system everyone was excited to hear the audio with such a clarity and commented that this product ideally suits our church environment. Everyone who visits our church appreciates the audio clarity.“ said Rev.Fr.Jijo J Muringathery, Our Lady Of Lourdes Church, Peechi.

 

After the inauguration ceremony on 8th September 2018, Our Lady Church is now open for devotees to visit and to experience the invincible sound experience.

 

 

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