St.. Paul's Church, Oxnard, Installs Symetrix Jupiter DSP Before and After Sanctuary Fire

After years of planning a complete renovation of its sanctuary, including an upgrade to cutting-edge A/V technologies, St. Paul's United Methodist Church, in Oxnard, California suffered a devastating setback one week before its completion when a fire ruined everything inside the sanctuary. Sound Casework designed and installed the new A/V system, which was quick to install -- and reinstall -- thanks to the Symetrix Jupiter 8 audio processor at its heart.

The plan (by a church member who is also an architect) involvede renovatoin the front stage chancel area, and, at the same time, to install a new sound system and six flat-panel screens for displaying contents of the hymnal. Because the sanctuary is used for more than just worship service, Paul Svenson, os Sound Casework, used the Symetrix Jupiter 8 and a Symetrix ARC-2i wall panel remote to deliver an intuitive, auto-mixed sound system that would not require a sound tech for modest events. At the same time, the system includes a traditional console for worship services or other events that require nuanced control at the hands of a professional.

Svenson has been using Symetrix' Integrator series of processors -- and now the Jupiter series of processors -- since he first hooked one up to his laptop. "I was used to wrestling with gear from other manufacturers that sometimes took an hour to get into reliable communication with my laptop," he said. "With Symetrix, a 'Wizard' pops open and twenty seconds later, literally, everything is connected and communicating! Both the Integrator series and the Jupiter series are powerful, cost-effective, and simple to program and install."

A Bose MA12 line array with an MB4 subwoofer delivers content to the modestly-sized room, and QSC CX-series amplifiers provide the power. By using the Jupiter 8 and Sound Reinforcement 10 app from among the more than 60 available, Svenson is able to deliver all of the input conditioning, matrix mixing, user control, and loudspeaker conditioning with just one single-rack unit. Indeed, by programming the MA12's EQ curves into the Jupiter, he can forego the Bose processor for a cost and space savings. Four Sennheiser G3-series wireless mics and as many Telefunken M80 wired mics provide clear, reliable inputs. A Symetrix ARC-2i wall panel allows users to select an automatic system configuration for "meeting," "wedding," "memorial," or "worship." In worship mode, the system takes input from a Yamaha LS-9 console. Otherwise, the inputs are auto-mixed directly inside the Jupiter.

"They were one week away from the grand re-opening," recalled Svenson. "Everything looked beautiful. It was only a matter of applying the finishing touches. The head of the church board came in at 6:30 in the morning the day after we had finished the A/V system to find the sanctuary on fire! If the fire department had been just ten minutes later, the building would have been lost."

Though much of it was still apparently working, Sound Casework replaced all of the A/V equipment on the assumption that it was likely smoke damaged and thus unreliable. As with the original installation, the Symetrix Jupiter 8 made the re-installation a speedy process, and St. Paul United Methodist Church re-opened in full grandeur, delayed only a few months.