A perfect fit

Blessed with natural acoustic properties that can carry music and voices effectively, Anglican Gothic churches arguably do not require audio reinforcement. Their unique architectural features including stone surfaces, high vaulted ceilings and open spaces may suit choral music but, for spoken word and musical services, challenges abound. When Hong Kong-based AV distributor and turnkey solutions provider Tones Tailor was requested to provide an audio simulation for the Gothic-style Christ Church in Kowloon Tong, it placed its faith in its trusty HK Audio toolbox.

The high ceiling, angular pillars and high glass windows that allow sunlight to filter into Christ Church are characteristic modern Gothic features. Consecrated in 1938, architect John Porter was heroically killed defending the church from the Japanese as a member of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defensive Corps (HKVDC). During the 1942–45 occupation, the church was used as a horse stable, and those turbulent early years continue to serve as a powerful legacy.

Providing a little boost in the low frequencies, Tones Tailor added two floor-standing S210V dual 10-inch passive subwoofers for those occasions when the church stages music performances and live events. Dual wall-mounted HK Audio Fineo FO5 5-inch speakers cover the front seats and two larger FO8 enclosures provide onstage monitoring for the choir and the priest at the altar. A further FO5 speaker extends the sermon audio to the exterior entrance porch.

Providing highly detailed and powerful processing power for tuning and control, the entire loudspeaker system is supported by two Powersoft T604A 4-channel amplifiers, in addition to Q2404DSP+D 4-channel and Mezzo 322AD 2-channel amplifiers. The Italian manufacturer’s website provided detailed DSP presets for the HK Audio speakers. “The DSP preset file is separated into different installation positions, which allowed us to select the ideal preset for each individual speaker,” furthers Howard Chan. “By inputting the speaker preset files into the ArmoníaPlus software, little tuning was required.”

Housed in a rear rack with the amplifiers, an Allen & Heath SQ-5 can be connected to a 16-in/8-out portable stagebox. All the technological elements including the Shure SLX-D wireless microphone antenna are white.

An ideal setting for weddings with its simple, peaceful architecture, the church presented significant acoustic challenges for achieving clear speech and uniform audio coverage. Designed to naturally amplify the word of the Lord in the 1930s, today’s requirements for speech intelligibility and musicality required a renewed solution. “Our church members had been increasingly complaining about the deteriorating analogue audio quality of our old speaker system in our church,” testifies church councillor Raymond W C Chan. “With a new vicar Darren Pollock coming in, an opportunity presented itself to initiate an upgrade.”

Provided with a green light and supporting a budget to proceed, Chan nominated three vendors to tender, from which Tones Tailor would ultimately succeed. “The aesthetics of the technology including the speakers and antennae would all need to blend in naturally with the architecture,” comments Tones Tailor product manager Howard Chan. “Following long discussions with the church members to better understand their system requirements, we conducted an EASE simulation. When we modelled an HK Audio column system, the vertical dispersion qualities and reduction in reverberation from the ceiling and the walls vindicated our belief.”

To address the specific acoustical and operational requirements, the bespoke audio solution relies on HK Audio P10i and P10j passive column speakers. Precisely controlling the sound with 100° horizontal dispersion, their narrow 5° and 15° vertical patterns achieve the desired Speech Transmission Index (STI) value. Comprising 10 3-inch full-range woofers, each 600W (programme power) column speaker operates within a 155Hz–18kHz (–6dB) range.

Following four months of negotiations and careful planning, the works were completed between Sunday services. “We ensured that there would be no disruptions to services, which meant carefully planning the cabling and installation for the loudspeakers. Everything went according to plan and all the equipment suppliers sped up their deliveries,” adds Howard Chan. “Full credit to HK Audio because they delivered quickly and provided a customised solution for Christ Church’s bespoke requirements. Following the installation and the commissioning, our client is very happy with the speech intelligibility.”

Transitioning from an analogue to a digital mixing platform, and fulfilling speech intelligibility with a discreet, aesthetically integrated speaker placement appeared far-fetched at the onset of the project. To achieve these goals on a limited budget surpassed Raymond Chan’s expectation. “HK Audio proved to be excellent in terms of price–performance characteristics,” adds Howard Chan. “Their speakers sounded very good straight out of the box, but with just a little low-frequency adjustment, they sounded beautiful.”

“The primary demand is very clear speech performance followed by musical performance for weddings and musical events,” explains Howard Chan. “A worship leader can easily lose the attention of the congregation, so intelligibility is key to getting the message across loud and clear. When looking to achieve narrow directivity and long throw accuracy, the P10 column solution is perfect. Echo used to be a major issue with the sound bouncing around, especially when the vicar was preaching, but the P10 column speakers eliminated all those reverberation problems. With its slim, elegant appearance, the P10 is a very natural-sounding speaker, and the white finish ensures that it blends in with the church’s décor.”

Fixed to the left and right columns at the front of the church, joined P10i and P10j columns serve as the main system. With versatile mounting options, single P10j columns are fixed as delays in the left and right corridors combined with a final P10j serving as a rear balcony fill to provide constant coverage across the audience area.

With a GLL file available for each HK Audio speaker model, integration in EASE Focus was simplified. “The outcome was impressive because the actual loudspeaker performance is very close to the simulation with minimal tuning, ensuring a very quick and clean installation,” furthers Howard Chan. “Achieving a similar result in EASE Focus, the simulation data proved to be very accurate and was within the ±3dB SPL of our predictions.”