PreSonus' WorxAudio Loudspeakers "Change the Game" at Church of the Crossroads As an interdenominational house of worship, Church of the Crossroads caters to a multi-cultural, multi-generational congregation with a mission to help people discover God's plan for their lives. Services are contemporary in nature, exhibit high energy, and music assumes a pivotal role. To ensure its worshippers' experience is uplifting, church management recently elected to upgrade the sound reinforcement system in their sanctuary. After extensive evaluation, they decided to deploy loudspeaker technology from the WorxAudio catalog of PreSonus Audio Electronics' commercial audio division. Sutherland Sight & Sound of Florence, Alabama, an AV design / build firm that is actively involved in the installation of lighting, sound, and video for churches, sports facilities, conference centers, and other commercial entities, was contracted to design and deploy Church of the Crossroads' new sound system. Lane Sutherland, the company's general manager, discussed the challenges of the project and his decision to place two PreSonus WorxAudio XL5i-P all-in-one, powered, compact line array systems. "The church's sanctuary is approximately 125' wide by 53' deep from the stage lip to the back wall," Sutherland explained. "The stage faces into the width of the room, which has a slight fan shape. The ceiling height is 20'. Services are very energetic, with music being an integral part of the worship experience. They use a praise band and a vocal team, so clear, natural music reproduction was very important, as was speech intelligibility. Considering the broad horizontal dispersion factors involved, along with the need for clear, articulate speech and solid music reproduction characteristics, we determined that two WorxAudio XL5i-P line arrays -- flown to the left and right sides over the downstage edge -- would make a good choice for this particular space." When asked about those characteristics that made the WorxAudio XL5i-P line arrays the best choice for this project, Sutherland offered the following thoughts, "With a horizontal dispersion pattern that extends an unusually broad 160 degrees, the WorxAudio XL5i-P provided the side to side coverage we were looking for. As this room is effectively twice as wide as it is long, this was extremely important because it made it much easier to ensure consistent coverage -- no matter where one happens to be seated." "The music reproduction capabilities of this line array are excellent," Sutherland added. "The system exhibits wide bandwidth and handles crescendos very well. Equally important, the system transitions smoothly between the HF and LF drivers. Further, the five elements -- all in a single enclosure -- makes for a good-looking system, without distracting from the overall aesthetics of the room." Sutherland was equally impressed with the customer and technical support he received from PreSonus' commercial audio division. "PreSonus had our backs throughout this project," Sutherland reports. "Not only did the company provide a demo system to help us close the sale, they were very responsive in terms of answering the various questions that arose during the installation. PreSonus was with us every step of the way. They were great." The Church of the Crossroads installation took place in September 2017 and the equipment was placed into service immediately after. Since that time, Sutherland reports the system has been working above and beyond everyone's expectations. "We knew going into this installation that finding the right boxes to cover such a wide room while also delivering high performance was not going to be easy," he said. "The WorxAudio XL5i-P boxes proved to be the perfect solution for a demanding, modern house of worship. The system's all in one design and the incredibly wide dispersion made for an efficient installation and very satisfied end users." Amos McFalls, the music director and associate pastor at Church of the Crossroads, shares Sutherland's enthusiasm. "The new WorxAudio system has changed the game for our services," he explained. "Whether it be during the worship music or the sermon, there is crisp, complete coverage to every corner of the room. We've been extremely pleased." To learn more about Church of the Crossroads, visit them online at http://churchofthecrossroads.com/. For information about Sutherland Sight & Sound, go to www,sutherlandsound.com. 
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