Danley Loudspeakers at Pleasant Hill Church in Lawrenceville, Georgia

Blessed with the burden of a burgeoning congregation that was filling its small sanctuary beyond capacity, Pleasant Hill Baptist Church (PHBC) in Lawrenceville, Georgia raised funds to build a new, 500-seat sanctuary adjacent to its old one. The roots of PHBC reach back 135 years, and the latest expansion represents a significant milestone in that long history. The church hired Gainesville-based dB Audio & Video to design and install a video projection system and a high-fidelity, high-output sound reinforcement system to support its spirited services. To meet that objective, dB Audio & Video specified Danley Sound Labs loudspeakers and subwoofers.

"High-energy contemporary gospel music with a full band sets the tone for the two Sunday services at Pleasant Hill," explained Ronnie Stanford, systems advisor with dB Audio & Video. "The church was clear in its desire for a sound system that is abundantly loud, yet clear and intelligible. Moreover, they wanted robust low frequency extension, something the system in the old sanctuary had always lacked." PHBC originally approached Stanford with a different loudspeaker manufacturer in mind, but once the church officials heard a demonstration of the Danley boxes, "all questions were answered," in Stanford's words.

Rather than implementing the nine- to twelve-loudspeaker design that would have been required with the other manufacturer's boxes, Stanford was able to cover the room's entire 120-degree fan shape with just three principal Danley loudspeakers supplemented by three down-fills in an exploded mono configuration, according to the company. A single Danley SH-96 covers the middle 90-degrees of the room, with a pair of flagship Danley SH-50s flanking for side fill. Below each of those three loudspeakers, a Danley SH-95 provides down-fill, with a pair of Danley TH-115 subwoofers, aesthetically matched with the stage, providing the requested low-frequency extension. For stage monitoring, Sanford flew a pair of Danley SH-100s opposite the central SH-96. In addition, four Yamaha C115V-CA loudspeakers, and four Yamaha CM12V-CA floor monitors support the band.

"The centerpiece of this installation, the Danley SH-96, is an incredible piece of engineering," said Stanford. "With it, we're able to cover most of this very large room in one blanket from a single-point source. And where we do need another loudspeaker, the excellent pattern control of the Danley designs provides practically seamless coverage that does not suffer from the comb filtering generated by overlapping coverage patterns. In total, the coverage at Pleasant Hill is remarkably consistent from seat to seat." To further enhance the listening environment, dB Audio & Video deployed two-inch mineral fiber panels on the back and sidewalls.

In addition to Panasonic cameras and video projectors and Dalite PermWall screens, PHBC received a first-rate collection of supporting audio equipment. An Allen & Heath GL2400-32 at front-of-house and an Allen & Heath GL2800-848 at monitors gives the church powerful, robust control of every aspect of a service's music and spoken word. An expansive collection of live microphones, mostly from Sennheiser and Shure, provide instrument-specific capture. A Bi-Amp AudiaFLEX NC DSP provides modest input processing and loudspeaker conditioning, and 11 QSC RMX-series amplifiers power the system.

"They're really enjoying the new room and its new A/V system," reported Stanford. "It's serving them well. In addition, the Danley TH-115 subwoofers have given them the low-end boost they were so eager for. It's really amazing that those two modestly-sized subs can fill such a large room with so much well-defined bass."