D.A.S. Audio Loudspeaker System Deployed at the Summit Church in North CarolinaIn an effort to both revitalize their sanctuary and make worship services more engaging, the Summit Church of Kernville, North Carolina recently completed a major facility enhancement that included multiple 60-" LED displays and a variety of lighting fixtures. Audio also played a significant role in the renovation and, to ensure worshippers could clearly hear every last detail, a new sound reinforcement system consisting of loudspeakers from the Aero Series 2 and Artec catalogs of Valencia, Spain-based D.A.S. Audio were placed into service. Audio and Light, Inc., based in Greensboro, North Carolina, is a design / build firm handling AV installations for colleges, theatres, corporations, civic institutions, and houses of worship, was contracted to design and install the Summit Church's new AV system. Brent Everhart, sales engineer for Audio and Light, discussed the nature of the project and the team's decision to deploy the D.A.S. Audio loudspeaker system. "In meeting with our client to determine their needs and goals," said Everhart, "it became very clear that high quality sound reinforcement was a primary objective. The non-denominational contemporary services are very programmatic and production oriented utilizing multiple flat-panel displays with environmental video and moving lights, LED's, haze, and more to create an attention grabbing environment. It was crucial that their modern praise and worship band -- complete with guitars, bass, and drums, could make an auditory impact on par with the visual aspects of the environment." The Summit Church's sanctuary is approximately 100' by 100', oriented on the diagonal with a ceiling height of approximately 24'. Seating capacity is designed for 860 people. Based upon their experience with D.A.S. Audio loudspeaker systems used in the company's production department, the Audio and Light team deployed a sound system that incorporated ten D.A.S. Aero 12A powered, two-way, mid-high line array modules arranged in two flown clusters of five units each. These left-right hangs were augmented by eight D.A.S. Artec 8 two-way passive loudspeakers that were positioned across the nose of the stage for front fill. "Our customer decided to revamp their stage area by cutting off a portion of the nose of the stage and replacing their existing exploded array," Everhart explained. "I designed the room using EASE acoustic modelling software to choose loudspeakers and determine their correct location and aiming. Two proprietary subwoofers were added to the four the church already owned and they were arranged three per side in a cardioid pattern to control SPL under the stage and eliminate the uneven coverage they had previously experienced." When queried about the D.A.S. loudspeaker attributes that made the Aero 12A and Artec 8 loudspeakers a good fit for this particular project, Everhart offered the following thoughts. "First and foremost, the D.A.S. loudspeakers have great sound quality," he reports. "Further, the self-powered design of the Aero 12A's ensures that the power amps are perfectly matched to the loudspeakers while also simplifying system cabling. With this in mind, these loudspeaker systems deliver exceptional value and all these factors combined made them the perfect fit for this application." Everhart was equally complimentary of D.A.S. Audio's customer and technical support services, "D.A.S. is a pleasure to deal with. The company is very responsive and cordial. We have a terrific business relationship -- they even know us by name." The Summit Church's new D.A.S. loudspeaker system was installed in early January and placed into service immediately thereafter. During its first four months of service, Everhart says the system has been performing beyond everyone's expectations. "Everyone has been extremely happy with the new sound system," he says. "I received a text message the first Sunday of use stating, 'The new system is AWESOME!' The Summit Church and everyone at Audio and Light couldn't be happier." 
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