UPPEROOM, Dallas Church, Opts for d&b audiotechnik Soundscape

	"The software enabled us to quickly envision how acoustic energy would fill the room and guided loudspeaker placement," says Chynoweth.

UPPERROOM, a Dallas-based church with a global outreach, recently installed a d&b audiotechnik loudspeaker system along with the company's Soundscape acoustic enhancement system, featuring the En-Scene and En-Space software modules.

The audio system, designed and installed by Epic Resource Group, transformed the acoustics of the church's reclaimed industrial space, designed by Overland Partners. An array of acoustic challenges needed to be overcome, including an asymmetrical room with a glass wall, an overhead circular "halo" over the congregation, an acoustically dead environment, and numerous structural poles that blocked loudspeaker dispersion.

Offering ministry 72 hours a week, UPPERROOM's vision was to create a more intimate and engaging worship environment to better draw attendees into the worship experience. It also connects with as many as 10,000 viewers per day on YouTube, and there was a strong desire to enhance the quality of this online ministry. Epic Resource Group founder Brandon Chynoweth says, "With a complete d&b solution, we were able to do something amazing in this space.

"Designing a system for a space this complicated wouldn't have been possible without d&b's ArrayCalc," Chynoweth continues. "The software enabled us to quickly envision how acoustic energy would fill the room and guided loudspeaker placement. Once the system was up and running, ArrayProcessing ensured consistent acoustic energy projection across the room. The design of the system's loudspeakers and subwoofers, with their inherent directivity patterns, was instrumental in providing low stage volume, resulting in clean, high-quality live recordings."

The linchpin of the installation was Soundscape, which helped solve the room's most vexing acoustic problem, its 12 support poles. "Any stereo iteration I considered always had a pole about 3' in front of at least one speaker. The En-scene module on Soundscape provided the only answer," says Matt Wheeler, Epic's senior audio systems designer. "The elegance of the Soundscape's object-based mixing means a single loudspeaker doesn't have to do all the work. En-Scene minimized shadowing from the room's support beams, ensuring adequate coverage of the entire room. Now, you don't hear the obstruction from the poles, sound appears to pass right through them."

With En-Scene addressing the room's acoustic challenges, En-Space room emulation opened up further possibilities. UPPERROOM's global audio director, Brandon Meyer says, "En-Space is the key to making everything sound as good as it does. The natural reverb time of the room is less than half a second, but with the Basilica emulation, we can create an acoustic space with up to a six-second reverb tail. Although we're not physically in a huge cathedral, acoustically, we are. Best of all, front-of-house engineers can apply processing to specific elements or sources within the mix. Then, when the pastor speaks, the message can be more tightly focused and sound like he's speaking directly to you."

The installation of d&b Soundscape has had a profound impact on UPPERROOM. Congregants report feeling more deeply connected and immersed in the worship services. As Jonathan Lewis, executive prayer and worship pastor, notes, "It's like you're in the middle of the experience and you're part of it." Lewis also reports that the system's clarity, dimensionality, and low stage volume have elevated the quality of UPPERROOM's live recordings and online broadcasts. "We didn't just get a new sound system, we're thrilled to have a 'recording studio,' too."

The immersive nature of UPPERROOM's new location has also contributed to a growth in attendance. "Since we've opened the space, what's transpired since has been really special," Meyer says. "People don't know what they're hearing, they just know they like it. Sunday's services hit capacity and nearly doubled the attendance of our previous location. In fact, we've added another service on Saturday to accommodate everyone who wants to be a part of our worship experience."

The Soundscape 360 system features the DS-100 Signal Engine combined with 117 d&b loudspeakers installed in the facility. The front 180 degrees utilizes five compact T-Series line arrays, with each array comprising six T10 enclosures. Flown between the T-Series arrays are 12 V-SUB subwoofers, which combine with nine ground-stacked 21S-SUB subwoofers for low-end support. Thirteen xS-Series 44S enclosures are used as front fills, while six individual A-Series augmented array boxes comprise the inner surround ring, and 19 E-Series E12 point source loudspeakers complete the outer surround ring. Five Y-Series YiP10 point source loudspeakers fulfill extension duties, and five T-Series T10P enclosures provide delay coverage for the oval-shaped ramp that leads to additional seating.

Chynoweth concludes, "When you connect with people that deeply, your retention rate is much higher. If you're focused on what that means for growing your church, spreading the word, making meaningful experiences in people's lives, and keeping them engaged, Soundscape is a relatively small investment for the outcome it helps provide."