At Aspen Ridge Church in Evergreen, Colo., steerable Meyer Sound CAL™ 32 column array loudspeakers cut through a reverberant room to bring exceptional music and speech clarity for the congregants. The result shows that even and intelligible audio coverage is possible in sonically challenging spaces when acoustical treatment is not an option.
“I’ve been blown away by the sound quality, and since our worship space doubles as a gymnasium during the week, I’m extremely impressed by the way the CAL directs sound right where the people are, and not on the walls and ceiling,” states Kerry Cox, the church’s associate pastor of worship arts. “We wanted to make the room sound right, and CAL really fits the bill. I was also happy to replace the old cluster with the sleek CAL loudspeakers, which really cleaned up the look of the stage.”
The new system was designed by consultant Bob Langlois of Castle Rock, Colo.-based Second Opinion Audio and Daryl Porter of Audio/Video/Design/Build (AVDB) Group, with installation by AVDB Group and final commissioning by Langlois.
“Daryl and I took one look at this room, with high ceilings and a wide seating area, and we knew immediately that a CAL solution would be perfect,” recalls Langlois. “The results proved us right. The coverage is smoother, and the congregation has more headroom than it will ever use.”
The installation features two CAL 32 loudspeakers that are programmed with a three-degree down tilt and a 20-degree vertical beam spread, keeping sound energy below the seven-foot level in the 400-seat room. In addition, a 600-HP subwoofer is installed.
“The clarity and accuracy of CAL are phenomenal,” notes Cox. “Also, the uniformity of level from front to back is astonishing—whether you’re 10 or 60 feet away, you’re getting the same sound.”
The complete Aspen Ridge system also includes a Yamaha CL3 digital mixing console for main worship, Audio-Technica wireless systems, a Countryman E6 earset microphone for the senior pastor, and a collection of Shure Beta 87A and Beta 58A wired microphones. A Biamp Systems basic mixer and DSP unit accommodates basic uses during the week.