Electro-Voice EVA line-array loudspeaker system met key needs by upgrading sound quality while preserving historic architecture
Historic venue specialists Sound Planning were involved from initial consultation to final installation
With hidden hardware, efficient crossover and driver design, EVA delivers concert-quality sound and sleek looks in a cost-effective package
Burnsville, MN, Apr 2022 – One of the most sensitive forms of AV installation is for historic churches, where the infrastructure for modern systems simply does not exist, and in many cases cannot be installed due to preservation requirements. Located outside Miami, Coral Gables Congregational Church is one such structure. Built in 1923 in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, this United Church of Christ house of worship has been on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places since 1978.
When the church decided to modernize its audio and video systems, they were aware of the challenges involved and brought in Dave Armstrong and Sound Planning to consult on the project. Based in Ft. Lauderdale, Sound Planning has a proven track record of working with historic worship spaces.
“This congregation has a real commitment to music, which they made very clear in our initial meeting,” notes Armstrong. “As soon as I saw the Bösendorfer grand piano in the sanctuary, I knew they were serious, and that the Electro-Voice EVA line-array system would be a perfect candidate for the main PA.”
A go-to EV solution for house of worship sound, EVA (Expandable Vertical Array) offers all the benefits of concert-type line arrays without their cost and complexity. Each EVA module comprises two array elements with a total of two 8” woofers and four 1.25” compression drivers mounted on Hydra waveform converters, reducing overall array size. EVA’s compact design also minimizes visual distraction, with clean lines and no visible rigging hardware. EVA modules are available in four fixed-angle configurations that can be combined in any order for precise and even coverage. EVA’s extraordinarily efficient crossover and driver design allows two full-sized arrays to be powered by a single amplifier, further adding to the cost and space savings. EVA has long been known for delivering balanced and musical sound without any external DSP except for room EQ. In addition, Electro-Voice recently released EVA speaker settings for Dynacord amplifiers that provide enhanced performance through multi-stage speaker protection and a slightly tailored midrange response. These settings are available for the full-range array cabinets and for EVA subwoofers.
Once the church finalized its direction, Sound Planning was among the firms invited to bid. Using design input directly from Electro-Voice, they proposed a single EVA array to cover the entire congregational seating area, which includes a balcony. “It’s not a huge space, so all we needed was one center-hung three-box EVA array – the equivalent of a six-box conventional system,” notes Armstrong. “We installed it among the exposed beams in the ceiling, with the lowest point 21 feet above the floor. The beams are dark wood, so the black cabinets and cabling hide well up there. There were no objections to the aesthetics.”
The array features three EVA-2082S elements with a progressive dispersion approach. For the long throw to the balcony, the top box has a tight 90° x 6° coverage pattern. The middle cabinet covers the back of the room with its 90° x 20° pattern, while the bottom module utilizes 120° x 20° dispersion to address the front pews. This covers the entire space evenly, with no front, down or side fills necessary. For contemporary music presentations, a rolling cart with one self-powered Electro-Voice EKX-15SP subwoofer is available for extra low-end support.
“The historic architecture remains unchanged, the EVA system looks and sounds fantastic, and the folks at Coral Gables Congregational Church are thrilled,” adds Armstrong.
The Electro-Voice teams in the UK and the US have been proving the stunning sound quality of MTS high output point source loudspeakers in a series of open-air demonstrations for consultants and stadium professionals. In this video, audio experts share their first impressions of MTS after hearing the new standard in stadium sound for the first time at events in Wigan and Burnsville
ETC fos/4 series fixtures are the new luminaires from the legendary lighting manufacturer dedicated to the studio and broadcasting market. Malo Ma, a young and budding gaffer in Hong Kong, has used fos/4 series in various video productions to great effect.
fos/4 Panel was used in a recent music video production sung by a rising female Hong Kong singer. Malo led the lighting of this video production where he had the opportunity to put the fixtures through their paces.
The music video portrays how the singer pulls herself together from failures and challenges. fos/4 Panel Daylight HDR (8” x 24”) was put to use in a few shots in this music video where Malo capitalized on the excellent colour rendering. “The colour is very natural. I like how the colour-mixing with deep red LEDs makes the skin colour tone and other scenes look real and delicate,” commented Malo Ma.
“The lightning strikes effect is surprisingly real. It flashes naturally and makes the mood of the scenes better especially highlighting the complicated feeling in this song,” added Malo.
Because of the good experience using the fos/4 Panel, Malo added fos/4 Fresnel to his gear list when he was preparing for a fashion video production. In this picture, Malo and his team were adjusting the color, angle, and brightness. “The brightness is good. And I like the intuitive and simple UI with the four backlit encoders, making it easy to change colour and other settings quickly and accurately,” commented Malo.
Malo and his partner, Hero Pun, set up their own business, Come Roll Media Limited, in 2013 focusing on movie production and equipment rental. The young entrepreneurs are professionals from the filming industry and now expanding their reach to TV commercials, music videos, events, post-production, and more.
From ETC and High End Systems comes the Lonestar, the most affordable, versatile moving head fixture form the legendary lighting manufacturer yet! Let’s take a look at what you get…
Lonestar is a great lighting tool built for designers and programmers who want maximum performance from a mid-sized automated framing fixture. The budget friendly luminaire brings punchy output, a professional feature set, and ETC’s legendary quality at a new, more affordable price point.
THE RIGHT SIZE
Engineered to easily fit into any lighting design, Lonestar is the most compact High End Systems framing fixture yet, but doesn’t sacrifice any features or output.
THE RIGHT FEATURE SET
Output
Offering punchy 15,400 lumen output from its Bright White LED engine, Lonestar delivers high brightness and visual impact to any stage.
Color
With seamless CMY mixing, linear CTO plus fixed color wheel for the purest saturated colors available, all your needs are covered.
Shaping
Lonestar’s full curtain framing shutters allow precise, repeatable beam shaping; put the light where you want it, and never where you don’t.
Patterns
Shape your stage with Lonestar’s nine rotating patterns. Animation wheel, plus dual frosts and prisms produce limitless morphing and texture layering options.
Beams
Build structure in the air with Lonestar’s beams. The 3.5 – 55 degree zoom range creates powerful narrow beams to wide washes and everything in between.
WANT TO EXPERIENCE LONESTAR?
Contact anyone of our Re-sellers for more information and to organize a demo. Click the link below to see ETC dealers for Southern Africa.
The global introduction of the MTS series expands our portfolio of sound solutions for stadiums and sports venues with a new full-range, high-output, long-throw, point-source option. With every detail geared towards addressing the most demanding requirements of consultants, integrators and installers specializing in large performance venues, MTS brings to bear its stunning acoustic performance with superior control, coverage and clarity, truly setting the next standard in stadium sound.
The MTS series leverages EV’s engineering resources as part of the Bosch Group, including the use of High-Performance Computing clusters for the design. As such, MTS brings an evolution of our pioneering manifold loudspeaker technology and MH horn technology to advanced levels of audio performance. The full-range horn-loaded loudspeaker with four 15″ woofers and dual coaxial mid/high frequency compression drivers generates extremely high SPLs of more than 151 dB peak and reliably provides precise coverage control in both the horizontal and the vertical aspects, without sacrificing sound quality or SPL.
Join DPA & ApexPro on the 10th of September 2021 at 10 am or 4 pm, for a webinar series focusing on speech intelligibility concerning radiation pattern of the voice, microphone placement on sources, microphone directionality, background noise, and intelligibility, frequency response, transient response, the threshold of hearing, tips and tricks on hiding lavalier microphones hosted by Global Sales Support Manager Bo Brinck.
Bo has been working in the audio industry since his early teens, first as a musician, later as a recording engineer and producer. He has more than 200 albums in his discography as producer and recording engineer and a DPA Microphones employee since 2005.
To increase knowledge on the importance of microphones in the sound chain, Bo also educates on audio-related topics such as acoustic challenges and correct microphone placement on the body as well as musical instruments.
Register early & stand a chance to win a DPA T-shirt, draw to be announced in the webinar.
To register for the 10:00 AM or 4:00 PM session click one of the images below.
