Christ Church of the Valley Etiwanda Gardens Steps Up to Martin Audio

CCI Solutions recently completed an upgrade at Christ Church of the Valley's Etiwanda Gardens campus that includes a comprehensive Martin Audio CDD-LIVE sound system.

Founded over 60 years ago, CCV has experienced tremendous growth throughout Southern California, highlighted by the recent launch of the Etiwanda Gardens campus in Rancho Cucamonga. The church on site underwent a comprehensive renovation with CCI providing the design and installation of new audio, video, and lighting systems.

Asked about the venue, CCI project lead Mike Sessler responds, "The room originally had a banquet hall feel, but they did a complete renovation of the auditorium to make more space and modernize the room. The space measures about 96' wide by 67' with a fairly low ceiling height of 15' The project scope changed dramatically the week prior to the install, which led to tight timelines for getting everything up and running."

The PA system includes three CDD-LIVE 12 flown left, center and right over the front edge of the stage with three more CDD-LIVE 12 halfway back over the congregation for delays. Two CSX-LIVE 218 subs are flown over the stage in the ceiling behind and above the CCD-LIVE 12.

According to Sessler, "The church features a contemporary Christian worship service that definitely rocks, and their biggest concerns were volume and consistent coverage so that every member of the audience could have the same experience. The low ceiling height meant point source boxes and, for us, that means CDD-LIVE. The built-in amplification and DSP make for a quick and clean install, and they sound fantastic.

"The entire CDD line provides more than enough SPL and sounds very musical. Low-end is a big deal for these guys, so tucking the CSX-LIVE 218 subs up high was the logical choice. The low-end coverage is extremely even while providing the designed thump in the chest. The lobby features 11 Martin Audio C4.8T ceiling speakers and the outdoor patio has four CDD6TX-WR weatherized speakers. It's a total Martin Audio experience inside and out."

The audio system also includes a Yamaha CL5 with Waves Soundgrid Server and various plug-ins, Shure Axient-D wireless mic systems, a Symetrix PRISM 8x8 digital signal processor, and a Bose 4-channel 600w amp to drive the lobby and outdoor speakers.

A comprehensive complement of video and lighting equipment is highlighted by a pair of Vivitek 10K projectors and DA-LITE 159" diagonal HD video format fixed frame screens, three Hitachi Z-HD5500 CMOS Production Cameras and a Ross Carbonite Production Switcher. Key lighting is provided by ten Chauvet Ovations F95 Fresnel fixtures and four E-160 Ellipsoidal fixtures. Four Chauvet Rogue R2 Spot fixtures as a variety of existing LED fixtures provide top, back and effect lighting. Summing up about the CDD-LIVE system, Sessler concludes, "For most churches, the most important sound issue is speech clarity -- it's why people come to church. CDD-LIVE delivers excellent vocal intelligibility throughout the entire space.

"The differential dispersion horns provide a huge advantage for us with wider coverage up close and a more focused pattern further away. The coverage maps on this project show ±2dB for almost the entire house -- without gain shading. The coverage is incredibly even front to back and side to side.

"The client loves the system and the CDD-LIVE 12's far surpassed their expectations in terms of power, coverage, and impact. They're thrilled with the way the space sounds and already have us working on the next project."